QUILTsocial | Issue 16 by A Needle Pulling Thread

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Visit QUILTsocial.com to download a PDF version of this issue.

ISSUE

EAT, SLEEP, QUILT, REPEAT! TUTORIALS on

Square Peg Round Hole Quilt

Husqvarna Viking HUSKYLOCK s25 serger

Brother Luminaire Innov-is XP1

Mid Mod Shoofly Quilt Jelly Roll Quilt Sharpening your rotary cutter QUILTING with a SERGER The benefits of using the TrueCut System Understanding the BASICS of a serger

Indispensable tools that make the BEST bag CONSTRUCTION ever! O  UILTsocial

Elegant functionality. Attention to detail and innovative features make a PFAFF® quilting machine a perfect accompaniment to your creativity.

• PFAFF® Colour Touch Screen

• 201 Stitches

• Exclusive PFAFF® Stitch Techniques

• Speed Slider

• Exclusive Stitch Creator™ Feature

• Extra Presser Foot Lift

• Large 250mm sewing space

• Needle Up/Down

• Straight Stitch Plate and Sensor

www.pfaff.com/en-CA

Editor's Letter

I hope this letter finds you in good health. I hope you have been able to acclimatize to your ‘newnormal’ lifestyle under the restrictions of Covid-19. I also hope you have been able to make good use of this period of isolation to engage with serenity in activities that make you most happy, particularly quilting. Many quilters have dedicated this period of isolation to finish UFOs and posting their quilts on Facebook or Instagram. Many are taking this time to rethink a project, rip portions of a quilt top and start fresh or modify what they had left for unachievable. Under the circumstances the opportunity to brush up on quilting skills, explore techniques and share our accomplishments on social media, has been ideal; an answer to our prayer for more quilting time. We are happy you dedicated some time to visit QUILTsocial! In this issue, you’ll find out how to piece a quilt top using the Husqvarna Viking HUSKYLOCK s25 serger, understanding the basics of a serger, how to change threads and how to make reusable grocery bags for fruits and veggies.

You’ll want to read about the 10 super-useful and time-saving notions that make a tote bag long-lasting and easier than ever to make! Check out the excellent pattern we’re using for the sample. If machine embroidery is your thing, we’ve got several tutorials for how to do embroidery magic using the Brother Luminaire Innov-is XP1. The Mid Mod Shoofly Quilt was thrown in this mix to put some joy in your day. It’s easy and fun to do and won’t take you long before you can bind it and send it to someone you love. I invite you to share your finished projects, the ones you've conquered as well as the ones born from isolation, and post these with #TheSewGoesOn. Now more than ever we are quickly connected with fellow quilters, sharing our accomplishments through the many online platforms. Quilters make the best support groups in challenging times. Stay safe and keep on quilting. Cheerfully,

Other tutorials include learning about the tools of the TrueCut System, how they work, and how they help with cutting the pieces for the Square Peg Round Hole quilt on the cover – child’s play!

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EAT, SLEEP, QUILT, REPEAT!

PUBLISHER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ART DIRECTOR Carla A. Canonico carla@QUILTsocial.com PUBLISHER, ADVERTISING SALES John De Fusco john@QUILTsocial.com PHOTOGRAPHERS Carla A. Canonico, John De Fusco BLOGGERS/CONTRIBUTORS Paul Leger paullegerquilts.com Tania Denyer gingerquilts.ca Elaine Theriault crazyquilteronabike.blogspot.ca Michael Smith thesewcialquilter.ca Liana Kirkey lianak.stc@gmail.com GRAPHIC & WEB DESIGN Carla A. Canonico carla@QUILTsocial.com GRAPHIC ASSISTANT and SOCIAL MEDIA Sondra Armas WEB and IT SUPPORT Alejandro Araujo

* projects * techniques * product reviews

WEBSITE / BLOG : https://QUILTsocial.com Like us on Facebook : QUILTsocial Follow us on Pinterest : quiltsocial Follow us on Instagram : quiltsocial Follow us on Twitter : @QUILTsocial WHERE TO GET YOUR COPY QUILTsocial is a quarterly eMagazine published by A Needle Pulling Thread. It is available free for personal use online at https://QUILTsocial.com. A limited number of printed copies of QUILTsocial are available for purchase at select quilt shops and specialty stores. Ask for it at your local shop. QUILTsocial is not available by subscription. QUILT SHOPS If you are interested in carrying QUILTsocial in your store, please email john@QUILTsocial.com. EDITORIAL Designers and other contributors who would like to be considered for future issues please email carla@QUILTsocial.com with a brief description of your work and your proposed project for the magazine. ©2020 QUILTsocial. All rights reserved. Issue 16 ISSN 2368-5913.

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No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. All designs, patterns, and information in this magazine are for private, non-commercial use only, and are copyrighted material owned by their respective creators or owners.

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Elaine’s Quilting Tech Tips! 4

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Advertiser Index 68 A Needle Pulling Thread Magazine 67 Brother 66 Business Directory 23 Gütermann Creativ 65 Husqvarna Viking 15 Melissa Marginet 25 Northcott Fabrics 02 PFAFF 04 QUILTsocial.com 24 #TheSewGoesOn

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CONTENTS 06

10 super-useful, time-saving notions for quick and easy bag-making

Part 2 – 10 super-useful, time-saving notions for quick and easy bag-making

Part 3 – In quilting notions, Clover is my lucky charm

Part 4 – Get a handle on sewing with Clover Create-a-Strap

Part 5 – Why Chaco Liner and UNIQUE Sewing Jumper are indispensable notions

Be part of the Mod Squad with Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics

Ready, set, cut your pieces for the Mid Mod Shoofly Quilt Block

Modern shoofly block assembly with Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics

Super simple sophisticated straight line quilting

Sewing the binding on the Mid Mod Shoofly Quilt

Automatic design positioning on the Brother Luminaire Innov-is XP1

Design positioning by scanning

A wonderful innovation in design positioning: the Luminaire projector

Pattern Connection by Camera on the Brother Luminaire

Playing with the Quilting Border Patterns in the Brother Luminaire

Quilting with the Husqvarna Viking HUSKYLOCK s25 serger

Understanding the basics of a serger

How to piece a quilt using a serger

Finishing off the serged jelly roll quilt with a border

Making a reusable produce bag using a serger

TrueCut System has the tools you want for perfect quilt cuts every time!

The trick to cutting long pieces of fabric is in the fold!

TrueCut 360º Circle Cutter makes perfect fabric circles effortless!

Assembling the Square Peg Round Hole Quilt

Finishing the Square Peg Round Hole Quilt

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10 super-useful, time-saving notions for quick and easy bag-making Michael Smith

Like many quilters, I got turned-on to making tote bags a while back and just can’t stop. These useful, environmentally friendly totes come in handy, especially since I always seem to acquire more goodies in my travels. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

4 versions of The Everyday Tote pattern by Elaine Theriault for Northcott

There are many great patterns on the market, but my favorite is The Everyday Tote by Elaine Theriault for Northcott.

Her article, 7 Tips for Accurate Seams is a great tutorial for those especially new to piecing a quilt or in need of a refresher. Elaine’s instructions for The Everyday Tote are super-easy to follow and the tote itself is a great beginner project.

The Everyday Tote pattern by Elaine Theriault for Northcott - one of the many FREE patterns on the Northcott website and my favorite tote bag pattern!

Many of you may already be familiar with Elaine’s work as she’s a regular contributor to QUILTsocial.com and A Needle Pulling Thread magazine.

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You won’t need much fabric; a couple of fat quarters. Chances are you already have some on hand, or, how about visiting your local quilt shop to pick up some beautiful new fabrics from the Banyan Classics Collection by Banyan Batiks? I designed a simple Rail Fence quilt and wrote about the stunning new Banyan Classics Collection by Banyan Batiks the week of February 18, 2019 here on QUILTsocial. One reason I love this pattern is that it’s a perfect blank canvas for you to unleash your creativity and build upon its simplicity.

Orange accent band of fabric was added to brighten up the greige fabric used for the body of the tote bag

The first Everyday Tote I made was exactly as the pattern was written, but, for the next tote I made, I added a little accent band of fabric to the body of bag to brighten things up. This was especially easy to do while each piece of the bag body was flat; before the side seams were sewn. After I pressed each long edge of the strip of fabric to the center, I used one of my favorite products, HeatNBond Quilter’s Edge iron-on adhesive, to position the strip exactly where I wanted it on the body of the bag.

Use HeatnBond Quilter's Edge iron-on adhesive to position fabrics, trims, etc., quickly and easily without using pins.

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the back of the package, but basically, you press the HeatnBond Quilter’s Edge iron-on adhesive to the wrong side of your fabric, let it COOL, then remove the paper backing and position, in this case, onto the main body of the tote bag. Press and now you’re ready to stitch. So fast and easy!

Make a tiny slit in the blister pack to feed the roll of HeatnBond Quilter's Edge through to keep it neat and ready to use

TIP After opening the package, make a slit in the plastic blister pack through which you’ll feed the tape. Basically, you’re making your own tape dispenser. Reel off as much as you need, then tear or cut leaving a small tail of tape through the slit. Hang it up on a peg board, or hook near your machine or cutting table so it’s ready to use next time. Fusibles save so much time and make things easier. A new discovery for me is Clover Wrap N Fuse piping.

The hardest part is waiting those extra few seconds for the fabric to COOL before peeling off the paper backing of the HeatnBond Quilter's Edge iron-on adhesive

I try to avoid using pins whenever I can as they can distort and shift the fabric and I also don’t like having to stop sewing to take them out. I won’t even discuss the possibility of sewing over pins because I learned the hard way, many years ago, why it’s important not to. Turns out my high school sewing teacher was right! Lol! HeatnBond Quilter’s Edge comes in many sizes and strength of adhesives so if your local quilt shop doesn’t have the size or type you’re looking for, they can likely order it in for you. It’s such a time-saver, and it won’t gum up the sewing machine needle, either. I use it to position the tote bag handles, pocket pieces; anything I want to hold securely into position before sewing. Photos by Michael Smith

Use Clover Wrap N Fuse to make piping quickly and easily

Follow the manufacturer's instructions to press the iron up against the Clover Wrap N Fuse cording - a real time-saver to use the iron to make piping instead of the sewing machine!

It’s the coolest thing! The name says it all. Simply wrap your fabric over the Clover Wrap N Fuse piping then press with your iron running along the cord. I’d say it’s SEW simple, but you’re not sewing at all! Isn’t that amazing?! Clover Wrap N Fuse piping adds a distinctive designer touch to tote bags - and Home Dec projects!

Clover Wrap N Fuse cording is encased in fusible web so piping is created quickly and easily by pressing with an iron, rather than sewing at the sewing machine

On the tote bag pictured below, I inserted the contrast piping the traditional way; stitched fabric around cording then inserted between layers and stitched, but, for my next tote bag, or Home Dec project, I’ll try this Clover Wrap and Fuse piping method instead. Such a time-saver and fantastic designer touch!

Piping detail inserted between the contrasting band and the main body of The Everyday Tote though it was not included in the pattern, it's an easy detail to add

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Part 2 – 10 super-useful, time-saving notions for quick and easy bag-making I’ll share some more fun, time-saving products and notions to help making your bag-making quicker and easier, with more professional results. The tote bag pattern I use most frequently is The Everyday Tote by Elaine Theriault for Northcott; a FREE pattern from their website!

Use HeatnBond High Loft Fusible Fleece to add body, shape and stability to ordinary quilting cotton.

I think one reason why bag making has become so popular with quilters is that we’re always looking for fun projects to use up some of our stash. How many of you out there feel as if you’ll never use it all, or, perhaps you’re like me and say every January that you won’t buy any new fabric all year till you use up more of what you already have on hand? I’ve said that probably the last 5 years and my stash has somehow grown bigger every year! LOL! The Everyday Tote is a great pattern to use up some of that stash! To make quilting cotton more suitable for the rough wear and tear your tote bag will likely endure, you’ll need to beef it up to make it firmer and more stable. The Everyday Tote pattern calls for Fusible Fleece and Fusible Interfacing. My favorites are by HeatnBond, the grand-daddy who seemed to invent iron-on adhesives.

Test swatches of the various fusibles commonly used when constructing tote bags

On the left is the rough, bumpy "wrong" side with the fusible added to the HeatnBond Fusible Fleece. On the right is the smooth, "right" side, which has no fusible on it.

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Using fusible fleece and fusible interfacing are great stiffeners for tote bags as you can still sew through them, and you can use every bit of it. Don’t let any scraps go to waste! Simply cut the edges straight and arrange them on the back of your fabric, butting the edges together. Don’t overlap, but place next to one another and carefully fuse into place. Because your tote bag will be lined, no one will ever know that the fleece or interfacing wasn’t one large piece. With proper fusing, the pieces will stay in place regardless of wear and tear on the bag. HeatnBond non-woven fusible interfacing comes in light, medium or heavy weight, depending on the project and the results you desire. For The Everyday Tote, I personally prefer using the Heavy Weight fusible interfacing as it adds more body, a little extra stiffness to the fabric which will be used for the lining and pockets of the bag.

HeatnBond has an iron-on adhesive for it seems every type of fabric and every type of need, so it’s important to read the packaging to ensure you get the correct product for your project. Some adhesives are no-sew, so they are not meant for hand-sewing or even sewing by machine. These are permanent adhesives meant to withstand the test of time, so again, take the time to read all the instructions first. Conveniently, many adhesives are available in smaller packages, so it’s a great way to buy a bunch and experiment. I like to cut them into 6” swatches, label, and tuck into a page protector so I have a point of reference to which I can go back.

HeatnBond non woven fusible interfacing and fusible fleece are available in convenient pre-cut packages, and by the yard on the bolt

Alternatively, another method to add body to fabric is to quilt it. Yes, imagine that, quilters quilting quilter’s cotton – say that 10 times fast! Before cutting out the pattern pieces to size, layer your outer bag fabric over batting, and possibly a very lightweight fabric or non-woven fibrous material as a backing. There are many brands and types of batting on the market, but one of the oldest, tried-and-true is Fairfield.

Fairfield produces many different types of battings; 100% cotton, bamboo blend, etc. but my favourite for tote bags, table runners, etc. is Fairfield 80/20, which is 80% cotton blended with 20% polyester. It provides the softness and breathability of cotton, with the stability and durability of polyester. It shows great dimension when quilting, yet doesn’t add weight or stiffness to the quilt or tote bag. Quilt whatever pattern design you desire, but typically I’ll quilt a cross-hatch grid 2” apart. Alternatively, for a more modern look, I’ll stitch parallel lines of quilting the width of my walking foot.I always cut a little test swatch to practice and experiment with different quilting ideas and techniques. You’re the designer so quilt as desired!

Fairfield has many types of batting for all your quilting needs - my favorite is 80/20; 80%cotton blended with 20%polyester

Fairfield 80/20 Batting has loft to show dimension without added bulk, weight or stiffness

Always do a little text swatch to practice and experiment quilting ideas

Part 3 – In quilting notions, Clover is my lucky charm Wouldn’t our grandmothers be in awe of the amazing selection of notions we have available to us today which help make our sewing and quilting faster, easier, and more enjoyable? In part 3 of my spotlight on 10 products and notions which help make bag-making quicker and easier, I’ll talk about another of my all-time favorite time-saving notions – Clover Wonder Clips! Since being introduced to them a few years ago, I’ve acquired and coveted my growing collection of Clover Wonder Clips. I’ll happily share them, but I make

sure each and every one of those priceless little gems eventually finds its way home to me. I use them for everything! As I mentioned, I really dislike and try to avoid pinning whenever, wherever I can, so Clover Wonder Clips have become a necessity in my sewing room. I take a box with me whenever I travel and never worry about them possibly being seized from my carry-on bag when going through airport security. I once had pins taken away while boarding a flight, so I’ve learned not to risk it. Clover Wonder Clips are much safer!

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Clover Wonder Clips are great to use in place of pins, especially with thick, bulky fabrics like we use to construct tote bags. It’s easy to secure layers of fabrics together with clips as there’s less strain on your hands since you’re not trying to force a pin through so many thicknesses of fabric, fusible fleece, fusible interfacing, etc. Available in many sizes, colors, and amounts, you’ll find Clover Wonder Clips readily available at your local quilt shop.

One of my many boxes of Clover Wonder Clips in Red, my favorite color.

What makes Clover Wonder Clips so special is the many guide makings they have on the bottom of the clip. These are especially handy when sewing on binding as you can use the marks to line up and keep your binding strip even as you sew by hand or machine. You’ll see in the photo below that I’m pointing to the ¼” mark on the bottom of the clip. Clover Fork Pins securely hold the handles in place until ready to be sewn at the sewing machine.

Use the handy guide markings along the bottom of Clover Wonder Clips to keep your binding strip and layers even.

Unique in design, Clover Fork Pins are ideal to use to firmly hold pieces just where you want them, even through bulky fabrics.

To the left is a photo of where the side seam and bottom seam of The Everyday Tote meet to square off the bag. I always try to nest/ lock the seam allowances in opposite direction, so I have a perfect match, and the Clover Fork Pins help achieve this by securing each side of the seam. It’s brilliant engineering, which is why I feel having Clover in my sewing room is my lucky charm.

Alas, however, there are times where you simply can’t use the fabulous Clover Wonder Clips, like when positioning the pocket pieces on the lining fabric of The Everyday Tote. In case you missed the first two parts of this series, The Everyday Tote pattern is by Elaine Theriault for Northcott; a FREE download from their website. It’s my favorite tote bag pattern! You could use a product I discussed, HeatnBond Quilter’s Edge iron-on fusible adhesive to keep those pocket pieces into place, or, you could use my favorite pin, which is kind-of like two pins in one, Clover Fork Pins.

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It’s no secret I prefer not to pin whenever I can get away with it, BUT, when I absolutely MUST pin, I reach for my Clover Fork Pins because they securely hold pieces in place without any distortion. They are very fine so easily slip through the bulk of multi-layers of fabric, and fusibles, yet, because of their unique design, are sturdy and keep things where you want them.

Because of their unique design, Clover Fork Pins help ensure a perfect match by securing each side of the seam allowance without any distortion.

They are also useful when positioning the straps/handles onto the main body of the tote bag, as pictured below. We’ve crossed the half-way point and we’re in the home stretch.

Part 4 – Get a handle on sewing with Clover Create-a-Strap

Making straps and handles for bags are a BREEZE when using the Clover Create-aStrap, which is available in two widths 1" and 1¼".

Press along the perforated lines of the Clover Create-a-Strap for perfectly even straps done in a flash!

We’re getting close to the end of the list of 10 time-saving products and notions which will help make bag-making quicker and easier. Clover takes the spotlight yet again with another super-cool, super-useful, timesaving product. On to the straps! I'm following the instructions for the straps from Elaine Theriault's The Everyday Tote, I must share that Elaine’s instructions for making handles are fantastic! Super simple. Not all patterns are as well written as Elaine’s, so see if the following handle/ strap-making technique sounds familiar… Stitch fabric right sides together to create a tube, then turn right sides out. Sounds simple, right? Until you actually try to do it! In the past, I struggled to turn it right sides out; try turning it over my ruler or the blades of my scissors. I’d flick the fabric tube all around hoping centrifugal force would flip it right sides out. Finally, after an eternity, it would be ready to press, but then I’d struggle to get the edges turned out evenly so the strap would be a consistent width.

Clover Create-a-Strap creates consistently even straps quickly and easily.

Contrasting grosgrain ribbon stitched to the backside of the strap adds a splash of color and a unique designer touch

Use one of your sewing machine's many decorative stitches to embellish and finish off your Clover Create-A-Strap.

Well, those days are gone when you follow the instructions in the packaging of the Clover Create-a-Strap. This is another of my favorite products to use when constructing bags as it’s such a time-saver and the results are consistent and professional every time.

The strap on the left is the standard 1" strap created by using the Clover CreateA-Strap. The strap on the right has simply been folded in half to create a different size and look.

Get a handle on it! Available in two sizes, the instructions are super easy – just 3 steps to a perfect strap! Cut the fabric to the specified size, press the Clover Create-a-Strap onto the fabric, then press along the perforated lines. Voilà! Perfectly even, consistent width whatever the length of your strap. Now for the fun bits. You can either make two straps and stitch them wrong sides together so that no raw edges are visible or, you can do as the instructions suggest and cover the raw edges along the center of the strap with decorative trim or braid. I used grosgrain ribbon in a contrasting color, which adds a splash of color and an interesting, original design feature. Another alternative to finishing your strap is to use one of the many decorative stitches on your sewing machine. I hear it all the time, “my machine has so many decorative stitches, when do I use them?”

I used one of the many heirloom stitches on my machine to add a decorative element to the strap, but it also secures and covers the raw edges which have been pressed to the center of the strap, so it’s functional, as well. Alternatively, you could simply press the strap in half and stitch down the long edge so there’s no visible raw edges and you’d get a different effect with a narrower strap, as pictured below. This would be a great strap width for a casual shoulder bag, or smartphone case. Sew many possibilities, which is why the Clover Create-A-Strap is on my list of 10 super-useful, time-saving products and notions for quick and easy bag-making.

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Part 5 – Why Chaco Liner and UNIQUE Sewing Jumper are indispensable notions There are many, many, many marking tools out there, but the Clover Chaco Liner is one of my go-to notions. Easy to use, slim line, refillable, and available in several colors, what’s not to love? Widely available, too, which is great so I’m never without one – or 10, as I currently own. I have one at each sewing machine (I have a few of those, too, lol!) one at my pressing station, a few at my cutting table, a few at my longarm quilting machine. They’re so handy! As with all marking tools, it’s important to experiment before you mark your ‘good’ fabric. The talc is easily visible and goes on in a thin line, so it’s more accurate, but it’s easy to brush away.

Clover Chaco Liner comes in 4 colors; white, yellow, blue and pink. Marks a thin line of talc on any type of fabric, refills are available, too!

Often the severity of the chalk line dissipates as you work the fabric, so there really isn’t much to remove when the project is finished. For example, I often use the Clover Chaco Liner to make a line on my fabric when working on grid quilting. I mark one line on the fabric to follow while stitching, then I use my quilting guide bar to follow that line for all subsequent lines of stitching. Even with just using a simple straight stitch, the lines of chalk are easily covered as they are so thin. I use The Clover Chaco Liner to mark all types of fabrics, but I especially like to use them when I need to mark thicker, bulkier fabrics; fusible fleece, etc. which are typically used when making tote bags. You don’t need to use a lot of pressure for the talc to dispense and it won’t leave any permanent marks in the fabric, the way pins would in vinyl or leather, for example. Grab one in every color! The last item on my list is one of those handy, tried-and-true old standbys, yet, oddly enough, I find that many sewists don’t use it or even know of its existence – UNIQUE SEWING Jumper.

Use the Clover Chaco Liner to mark thin, fine lines, then simply brush away the excess.

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The UNIQUE SEWING Jumper is ideal to use to keep your sewing machine's presser foot level while sewing over thick, bulky seams

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This handy tool/ notion is so, sew convenient to use in so many applications. Known by many names, the UNIQUE SEWING Jumper is perfect to use for just that – when you’re stitching along and have to ‘jump’ over a thick, bulky seam.

Each side of the UNIQUE SEWING Jumper has a different thickness and different size groove which allows you to reposition and use this handy notion in a variety of sewing applications.

The photo below shows what happens when you’re stitching toward that thick, bulky seam; a seam we often encounter when sewing all sorts of bags, and in some garments.Think jeans! The presser foot is no longer level. As you continue to stitch and try to ‘jump’ over that thick seam, the presser foot slants more on an incline and this is when you’ll likely experience the frustration of skipped stitches and a broken needle.

By keeping the presser foot level, you’ll easily jump over thick, bulky seams with even, consistent stitches and no broken needle. Each end of the UNIQUE SEWING Jumper has a different length groove and a different thickness, so you can use it for a variety of applications. Full instructions are included in the packaging. As well, use the UNIQUE SEWING Jumper to make it super easy to sew a button on by machine. Place the button on top of the UNIQUE SEWING Jumper, ensuring the grooves line up with the holes in the button. Sewing through thick, bulky seams can often cause skipped stitches and broken needles because the presser foot does not stay level.

Simply use the UNIQUE SEWING Jumper to keep the back of the presser foot elevated, as demonstrated in the photo below, and say goodbye to skipped stitches and broken needles!

Simply place the UNIQUE SEWING Jumper behind your project to keep the presser foot level while you sew over, or 'jump' over the thick, bulky seam.

The UNIQUE SEWING Jumper elevates the button, so the extralong stitches form a shank under the button. This makes it easier to do up and undo the button through the buttonhole. And there you have it! 10 super-useful, time-saving products and notions for quick easy bag-making!

Use the UNIQUE SEWING Jumper when sewing buttons on by machine

Michael Smith

thesewcialquilter.ca

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Be part of the Mod Squad with Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics

Tania Denyer

I’m super excited to be working with Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics and I have created a fresh new modern quilt design for you! Batiks are sometimes dismissed by the modern quilters as too traditional so I was happy to see this new line from Banyan Batiks to show that batiks can be anything you want them to be.

My modern twist on the shoofly quilt block made in Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics.

For this design, I switched up the usual The four Banyan Batiks white or light background fabric that is traditionally used. I picked a solid black that Mod Graphics fabrics that I chose for this quilt. will let these batiks really pop! You may choose the background you prefer but I encourage you to give this a try. As many of you already know, black background in a quilt block is not all that modern…think of the incredible graphic quality of Amish quilts! They have been using black as a background long before modern quilters decided to do the same. The block I designed for this quilt is called the Mid Mod Shoofly. The traditional shoofly block is one of my favorites and I thought it would be fun to adapt it a bit and make something that felt a bit more modern. I played around a bit with the dimensions while still staying inside a regular quilt block design. This quilt is created with 8 of my mid-mod shoofly blocks and 8 squares of Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics. The finished measurement is 48'' x 52''. You can easily size up the quilt with the addition of more blocks and rows if you choose. materials fabric

• 1½ yds black background fabric • ½ yd each of 4 different Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics fabrics • ½ yd of coordinating Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics fabric for binding

• 3 yds of coordinating Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics fabric for backing

• 52'' x 56'' piece of batting thread • thread for piecing (I chose a dark gray) • thread for quilting (I chose a heavier weight yellow gold) A close up of the Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics fabrics... they are spectacular!

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Photos by Tania Denyer | issue 16

Ready, set, cut your pieces for the Mid Mod Shoofly Quilt Block

This is what your mid mod shoofly block will look like complete!

For each of your mid mod shoofly blocks, these are the three components you will need.

The mid mod shoofly block finishes at 12'' x 14'', the unfinished size should measure 12½” x 14½”. I’m cutting fabric for 8 pieced blocks and 8 solid blocks. cutting instructions black fabric

• (48) 4½” squares • (16) 4½” x 6½” rectangles each of your 4 chosen Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics fabrics

• • • •

(2) 4½” x 6½” rectangles (4) 4½” squares (4) 2½” squares (2) 12½” squares

My four selected Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics ready to be made into quilt blocks!

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Modern shoofly block assembly with Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics Now onto how to create the modern shoofly block with Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics! For each block you’ll use the following: black fabric Showing where to draw your pencil lines and sew to get the four half square triangles you will need for this block!

(6) 4½” squares (2) 4½” x 6½” rectangles Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics fabrics (2) 4½” squares (2) 2½” squares (1) 4½” x 6½” rectangle instructions Following the image, take (2) 4½” squares of black fabric Next on (2) 2½” squares of Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics fabric, draw a diagonal line on one side Place 2½” Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics fabrics squares on the corner of the 4½” black squares as shown. Sew on diagonal line.

Showing where you cut away the excess fabric and the direction to press to achieve your quilt block units.

Trim excess. Press open. Following the image again, take (2) 4½” squares of black fabric. Next on (2) 4½” squares of Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics fabric, draw a diagonal line on one side. Take (1) 4½” square of black fabric and (1) 4½” square of Mod Graphics fabric and sandwich together. Sew on diagonal line. Trim excess. Press open. Assemble all the parts and sew together into a block. Make sure you orient each of the blocks in the same manner if you want them to be in the same direction on the quilt!

A completed mid mod shoofly quilt block looking fantastic in Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics!

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Create 8 pieced blocks and arrange them with the 8 plain batik blocks to compose your quilt top.

Super simple sophisticated straight line quilting With all blocks pieced, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to assemble the quilt top. I chose to arrange it in 4 rows of 4. I also chose to keep each color of the Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics together as shown but there are other options you can try. Note: My pieced blocks are not all in the same orientation. I would like to say this was deliberate, however what really happened was that I pieced some of the blocks one day and the rest another. If you want to keep each of your blocks in the same layout, be aware that they are easily flipped around!

My chosen quilt layout with the Mid Mod Shoofly blocks!

Sew together the blocks into rows and then sew the rows together to achieve your quilt top. There are some offset seams which makes things a bit more forgiving but there are also a few spots where the seam match up. You will find this pattern is more forgiving in lining up blocks because really everyone will be looking at your cool modern quilt blocks! When your quilt top is complete, you can sandwich your quilt. Lay out your quilt back on a clean, clear surface. Tape the edges of your quilt to the floor. Keep things smooth but do not pull your quilt back too much or it will become distorted. Next add your quilt batting, smoothing into place. If you use cotton batting you will find it clings to the cotton fabric and stays nicely in place. You can use a basting spray if you choose, just make sure to use it in a well ventilated area with no small children or pets around! Add your quilt top, smoothing in place. You may use the basting spray or pins to secure the top to the other layers For the quilting in this project I chose simple straight lines. Decide whether your quilt lines will be vertical or horizontal on your quilt.

Sandwiching yo ur quilt top is sim ple, just three easy layers!

I chose a heavier weight thread for the quilting, a 12wt cotton. In the bobbin, I used a lighter 50wt thread. I also used a larger needle intended for heavier threads and set my stitch length to 3.0.

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You may notice in the pictures that follow that I missed the final thread guide before the needle. I did this because the friction of the heavier thread in that guide was causing it to fray and break. I like to share these realities of quilting to show that not everything is perfect and often you need to think of a work around.

I like to use painters tape as a guide to keep my quilting lines as straight as possible.

It's a good idea to make a little quilt sandwich and try your quilting out on that, to work out any problems before starting on your quilt proper, and above all don’t give up!. Begin by following the center seam down the middle of your quilt. I decided to quilt this top using parallel lines in only one direction. First step is to stitch a straight line down the center middle of your quilt and then continue to make parallel lines using the shapes in your quilt top as a guide. You can make them an equal distance apart or (and this is easier) have your lines different widths, it's more forgiving on the eye! I chose to use painters tape for my quilting guide and I always create my quilt lines from the center out. After I established a good amount of quilt lines with the painters tape, I use the quilting guide bar that my machine comes with to add additional lines in between.

Stop every few lines to check the back of your quilt to make sure things are neat and smooth. Batiks are gorgeous fabrics but the higher thread count will make them a bit more slippery to work with than regular quilting cottons. Continue to quilt lines to the edges of your quilt. TIP To keep your quilt top smooth, stitch in the same direction each time, top to bottom. If you change directions you may find that the quilt develops some soft waves in the quilt top. Above all, take your time and do not rush the process. You’ll be most satisfied with the result!

Quilting lines in progress...using a heavier weight thread makes your stitching really pop!

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And...after I have added a number of lines with the painters tape, I switch over to a guide bar.

Sewing the binding on the Mid Mod Shoofly Quilt

Binding and backing selection from Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics

This is how your binding should look pinned to the quilt, this is the start point of your binding.

Now we trim and add binding! Follow along, we’re almost done! First, trim the quilt. Using a long ruler (6'' x 24'' if you have it) and rotary cutter, trim the edges. The quilt should measure approximately 48'' x 52''. Second, prepare the binding. I chose a bright gold color from the Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics for my binding to keep the design simple. From your selected fabric cut 6 strips the width of fabric (or wof ) at 2½” wide. Sew the strips together at a 45° angle. Trim the excess fabric and press the seams.

Step 2: Finger press a 45° fold in your binding with the raw edge of the binding and the raw edge of the quilt matching.

Step 1: Sew the binding onto the quilt top, stopping ¼" from the edge of the quilt.

Press the length of the binding in half and at one end make a 45° cut and press the edge over. Pin the beginning edge of the binding to the quilt about 12'' away from a bottom corner. Using a walking or even feed foot if you have it, sew at a generous ¼” around the entire quilt and take your time! At the corners, you’ll have to perform 45° mitered corner to allow for the edges to turn over nicely. The pictures will outline these steps for you as they’re much easier to understand visually! Remember to pull your quilt top out from under the foot a few inches to perform the miter corner. Simply insert back under the needle for the next step, holding the threads out of the way. I end up tucking them inside binding when I finish it.

Step 3: Fold the binding back on top of itself at a right angle, again matching raw edges of binding and quilt.

Step 4: Begin sewing again at the edge of the quilt. You will be creating 4 mitered corners in total.

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When the binding is attached, finish by machine or by hand, whichever you prefer. I use a machine finish binding as shown here. By stitching on the back side of the binding, your stitch line should nestle along the binding on the front of your project. This technique does require some practice but with time you’ll be surprised at how easy it can be. Regardless of the finishing you choose, when the binding is finished, press on both sides of the quilt. And just like that you’re done! It has been a lot of fun creating this quilt design for you with the brilliant Banyan Batiks Mod Graphics! Don’t forget to tag #QUILTsocial in your social media posts. Until next time my sewist friends, keep that creative groove going!

When you sew the binding to finish from the back, the stitch line will lie alongside your binding.

Tania Denyer

gingerquilts.ca

The finished Mid Mod Shoofly Quilt! Add additional blocks and rows to size up.

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#TheSewGoesOn While we are sew at home, together we keep the spirit of sewing alive. Be part of a passionate sewing community. Share your sewing and quilting projects on Instagram using #TheSewGoesOn Look for giveaways, supplies and special offers!

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Automatic design positioning on the Brother Luminaire Innov-is XP1 Liana Kirkey

I’m excited to explore some of the Brother Luminaire Innov-is XP1 embroidery toys. When I started playing with some of the very cool embroidery features of the Luminaire, I notably left out any use of the camera functions. But you may also recall me mentioning 'Method and Madness' or was it 'Madness and Method'? So, this method is to showcase the camera options as applied to embroidery. In this feature, I’ll experiment with a different camera application. Ready to play along?

So, you know how the facial recognition ‘thingie’ works on your phone camera? Me either. But I imagine the Luminaire’s snowman-seeking camera works much the same way: it’s programmed to recognize specific features (in this case, the snowman shape with crosshairs and a “belly-button” target). It finds this, registers its position and angle in the hoop, and moves the selected design to match. Sounds complicated? It probably was to the programmers, but for us to use, it’s easy-peasy!

Let's take a look at automatic embroidery positioning. Did you even know there was such a thing? It’s a really helpful feature that can make the hooping struggle a thing of the past. Don’t get me wrong – good hooping skills are still important – but I’m referring specifically to the relationship between hooping and design placement.

For the next picture, I have hooped my stabilized fabric and adhered the Embroidery Positioning Sticker with the crosshairs exactly where I want my design center. And I do mean exactly… but oops, I hooped the fabric crooked. Yeah, it’s a small enough piece I could have easily hooped it straight the first time, but hey – work with me here. I want to show how magical this function is…

Now, I’ll admit to being ‘old-school’, I like my hoop templates, and I’ve gotten really good at using them to hoop accurately. Over the past 20-something years I’ve had tons of practice (and it did take practice). Occasionally, though, I still struggle with the odd project, for example – the fabric keeps shifting while I’m hooping and my placement marks end up crooked or offset. Brother has an awesome solution for that: Snowmen. Well, they’re officially called Embroidery Positioning Stickers, but the nickname Snowmen has stuck (no pun intended, but hey, I’ll take a giggle where I can get it), and it’s easy to see why. This is what they look like:

Embroidery Positioning Stickers (aka Snowmen) for the Brother camera machines.

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Here's my fabric, hooped crooked. Is that an uhoh? Nope!

I pulled up a design on screen I want to stitch on this pocket. Since no editing is required for the design I want to stitch, I advanced straight to the Embroidery screen (you might want to take a peek at my post last month where I reviewed the embroidery screen workflow of the Luminaire).

The Snowman feature on the Brother Luminaire makes design positioning magical!

Touch OK to the message about reverting the design to the original position, and now the magic begins: I can choose which boundary of the design I wish to reference for alignment. There are nine choices: any corner, top or bottom center, left or right middles, or design center. Since I placed my snowman in the center, that’s the reference I want the Luminaire to use; with it highlighted, touch the Abracadabra button – I mean the Scan icon. Reference any noted area on the design's boundary to position the design.

On the Embroidery screen, touch Layout, then the Snowman icon: Photos by Liana Kirkey

The Luminaire warns me the hoop will move (OK), and the scanner function engages, sliding the hoop around as the camera looks for the precise placement of the snowman. As soon as it recognizes it, it adjusts the design’s position and angle to match it exactly. You can see my design has moved and rotated on screen. It’s just perfect!

Seems almost too easy, doesn’t it? But then again – why would you want it to be difficult? And I’ll let you in on a little side-experiment: even when I placed the snowman on its side or upsidedown, it worked perfectly. The only time it wouldn’t reposition the design was when I stuck the snowman too close to the hoop’s embroidery boundary – and that makes sense, because the design would have been placed outside of the stitching area. This machine is too smart to let me do that!

I really didn’t need the center crosshairs; the Embroidery Positioning Sticker would have done fine on its own, But I like marking my placement (makes placing the snowman more accurate), and I wanted you to see (once the sticker was gone and the design stitched) just how accurate the positioning stickers are. What do you think? Don’t you just love how easy that was? If you liked that one, the next part will also be a treat!

Are you anxious to see the finished results? Check this out:

Done scanning and look - the design has been moved and rotated!

The embroidery design stitched out perfectly and precisely where I wanted it!

Design positioning by scanning The Brother Luminaire Innov-is XP1 feature I covered scanning the 'Snowman' sticker was so easy – you gotta love it. It’s perfect for getting the design exactly where you want it, such as a chest crest on a t-shirt, or a design smack dab in the middle of a quilt block. But…(yeah, there’s always a but, isn’t there?) what if I kinda want to decide as I go? Like maybe I want to embroider a butterfly design on fabric printed with flowers, and I want the butterfly just perfectly perched on the flower? Then it can be more of an exercise in trial-anderror – and who has time for that?

Here's another feature that takes away the guesswork in design placement: the built-in scanner. I love the scanner function because it’s also easy, and totally WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get). From my students, I'm constantly hearing “I’m a visual learner”. Most of us are, and being able to truly preview the end result simplifies any project. That’s where the scanner truly excels.

materials

• a favorite 5" x 7" photo • a 10" x 12” piece of fabric (I’m using a heavy faux suede)

• embroidery thread to coordinate • medium to heavy cutaway for the 105⁄8" x 16” hoop

• water soluble stabilizer (WSS) So now, please bear with me. I’ll build this project bit-by-bit, so no peeking at the end result – that would just be cheating, LOL.

So, I do have a little home decor project in mind to use the scanner. But truly, this tool is so easy, I felt guilty and decided to sneak an extra little goody in – the built-in border function in the Luminaire. It’s a quick 'n easy project, so I hope you’ll grab some materials and follow along with me. An overview of materials required for this little project.

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Here’s the quick prep: Thread up the machine; hoop the stabilizer and place the fabric on top, centered in the hoop. (set aside the WSS for a later step). Now lay the picture over top of the fabric. You can tape the corners, if you like, but I didn’t bother. Its location isn’t really important, but it should be straight in the frame. And don’t worry, I won’t stitch on the picture – I’m just trying it on for size, so to speak. The scanner function is easy and gratifying - the display shows exactly what's in the hoop - and where!

This is where the 'visuals' come in: now I can reference the photo to create a perfectly sized oval to frame the photo subject. And not that it’s necessary, but I like to change the thread color of the oval to a contrasting one for easier visibility. Drag the oval over the picture image, touch the size icon and adjust the dimensions to suit the picture.

Lay the photo on the fabric, anywhere in the hoop, but keep it straight!

Once that’s done (be sure to keep it slightly smaller than the picture), touch the Applique tool, set the distance to 0, and touch OK. I now have an applique sized perfectly for the photo. Ungroup the set, move the applique to center and delete the original oval shape. Save the applique to the machine’s memory. (If you joined me playing with Luminaire, these should be familiar steps.)

Next, choose Category 4 (Frames), and from the ten available frame shapes, choose the oval (4). Assign it the running stitch pattern (#10) and Set it.

The scanned image provides an exact template over which I can customize the design.

Selecting the oval frame shape.

Now for the second magic trick (the first was snowman magic). Touch the camera icon near the top right of the screen to open the scanner options, and touch Scan (OK the frame-will-move message). When it’s done, I see an image of the fabric and picture on my machine screen, overlaid by the oval I retrieved. I can now remove the picture from the hoop, and close the scanner window.

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Now for the next part: touch Home, and OK to cancel the current pattern. From the embroidery menu, select Category 5, and then Tab 3 (Utility Embroidery Patterns). Browse through the selection and choose one that appeals to you – I kinda like #36 – and Set it.

There are a ton of decorative stitches to choose from!

See the last scan I did is still on screen; since I no longer need it, touch the scanner button and turn the image off. Close that and touch the Edit button, and then the Border Layout function. This is such a cool option for arranging repetitive embroidery elements, and not only from this design category, but pretty much any embroidery design. I lu-u-u-v this toy! Now, the Border Layout tool can be used to create design repeats for “endless embroidery”, which is particularly effective when used with one of Brother’s border hoops, but I especially like using it to subtly texturize fabric, which is just what I’ll do. My goal is to fill an 8'' x 10'' area. I’ll be adding repeats downwards, and towards the right, so start by dragging the design to the upper left of the embroidery area in order to make room.

Turn off the image and open the Border function options.

By default, the vertical layout is selected; so I’ll begin with that. Touch the “add to bottom” repeats until there’s just more than 10'' worth (I can see the overall design size along the top of the screen). For my pattern, I added five more. Switch to horizontal addition and add to the right, to fill at least 8''. I used a total of ten. I can also fine-tune the spacing, and I spaced mine just a touch closer to minimize the stripy effect. Before leaving the border options screen, center the whole kit and caboodle in the frame and touch OK. Advance to the Embroidery screen, touch Layout and add a baste stitch; this will tack the fabric down to the stabilizer, since it isn’t secured by the hoop. And now it’s time to start stitching. Stitch the baste, which is automatically sequenced to the beginning, and then start on the fill. When I did this, only one pattern repeat stitched before the Luminaire stopped and prompted me to change color. To force it to stitch right on through, touch Layout again and touch the “Uninterrupted Embroidery Key” (that mouthful is straight out of the book). This tells the machine to stitch straight on through without stopping for color changes – a real timesaver!

Almost self-explanatory controls in the Luminaire's Border Function.

Wait – what about the oval applique I made? Well… applique needs attention, and if I had included that design, turning on Uninterruped Embroidery would have stitched right on through that one, too. So, now that the background fill is finished stitching, I’ll delete it and retrieve the oval from the Luminaire‘s memory. Touch Home (OK the cancel request) and touch the pocket icon; the oval applique is the most recent. Go ahead and Set it; advance right to the Embroidery screen. Two very helpful embroidery functions: design baste and uninterrupted embroidery.

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Stitch the first step of the applique; this is the cut line. Once it’s stitched, remove the hoop from the machine (NOT the fabric from the hoop), and lay it flat on a self-healing cutting mat. I used a small rotary cutter to carefully cut out the middle of the oval, a little more than 1⁄16” from the stitching line. Return the hoop to the machine, patch the hole with watersoluble stabilizer (feel free to tape the edges in place), and stitch the next step to secure it. Then, start the third and final stage, the covering stitch. It’ll begin with a loose zigzag; watch it stitch to make sure it’s trimmed closely enough. The zigzag should just nicely enclose the raw, cut edge. When the underlay zigzag is done, it’ll immediately begin the covering stitch, so if I need to stop the machine and adjust my trimming, catch it just before the covering stitch starts.. Cut out the center of the oval, about a generous 1⁄16" from the stitching line.

When it’s done stitching, remove it from the machine and gently tear away all of the water-soluble stabilizer. Unhoop the fabric and trim it down to 8'' wide x 10'' high, being sure to keep the oval centered. Oh, who am I kidding – I’ll trim it down later; right now I want to see my photo mat (yes, that’s what I just made) on my photo. What do you think? All it needs now is the frame to put it in… Now that the project is done, it’s confession time. The most observant of you may have noticed I stitched this with light blue thread, but my initial supplies picture showed a navy thread. Well, I was trying for a tone-on-tone effect, and my match was a little too close – you couldn’t even see the stitching at all. So I ripped it out (lucky I had only sewn one motif ), and restitched with the lighter blue. Does this ever happen to you? I had a couple of other little set-backs along the way which initiated some “design changes”, but overall, I’m pleased with the result. And did you like the “twist” – the applique wasn’t appliqued? Had you known the steps for basic applique and cutwork are the same? Cool, huh?

Previewing the almost-finished project: an elegant photo mat.

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There’s another cool feature to play next, so I hope you’re ready to explore yet another wonderful innovation in design positioning: the Luminaire‘s projector.

A wonderful innovation in design positioning:

the Luminaire projector

As I continue exploring some of the basic-yet-not-so-basic camera features of the Brother Luminaire Innov-is XP1. “Basic-yetnot-so-basic” – sounds contradictory, doesn’t it? But think about it: all this camera stuff (on a sewing machine, no less!) is pretty darn revolutionary, don’t you think? A mere few years ago, that would have fallen into the category of “What will they think of next?” But really, looking at them, weren’t they so very easy to use? Now, before I get started, I wanted to share with you a nonsewing-related project my family has recently been involved in…a few weeks back, we collected a ton of caterpillars (very hungry caterpillars!) and have observed the wondrous process of their metamorphosis into beautiful monarch butterflies. I still have a few chrysalises waiting to enclose (new word of the day?). We’ve been releasing them, of course, but one day I had 25 of them hanging out in my kitchen to dry their wings after emerging!

My inspiration for this project

So, as you might have guessed, I have butterflies on the brain, and they have inspired this project. I found a sentiment online that was just perfect, and a butterfly design in the Luminaire to coordinate. I used the Brother ScanNCut CanvasWorkspace to create a cut file, which I then cut from heat transfer vinyl on my ScanNCut. I heat-pressed my quote onto a tote bag, and now I’m ready to set that off with some embroidery. I hooped stabilizer, and pinned the bag onto that to secure it while I move it around as I work. As you can see, I already selected my design. I then set my color choices on screen, and moved right on to the Embroidery screen. There, I touched the Projector icon, and used the rotate and move tools in the Projector screen to place my design where I wanted it, all the while seeing an image of my design on my fabric. C’mon – you gotta admit that’s pretty awesome!

You can see the projection area on the screen in the pics below; because the projector is so close to my fabric, the area is a compact 3'' x 5'', but I can drag it around to follow my design.

L-R: turning on the projector, design positioning tools, moving the projection area

Enough on the screen, I’m sure you’re dying to see just what shows up on the fabric. Take a look at this – I’ve rotated and moved my design, and yes, moved the projection so I can decide exactly where No more settling for "close enough", when you I think this design will have perfect preview capabilities! look best. To complete my project, I repeated those steps to add two more butterflies to my tote, returning to the Edit screen to play with size – after all, no two butterflies are alike, right? I messed around with their position until I was really happy with what I saw, and then stitched. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Easy-peasy! All there is to do now is stitch up the side seams, and I’ll have a new accessory to show off: So what do you think – will the projector become your new favorite feature? It’s a tough choice, with so many convenient innovations to choose from. But considering this one in particular, it’s easy to see why Brother named this machine the Luminaire, meaning light. My almostfinished tote, with butterflies perfectly placed a la projector!

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Pattern Connection by Camera on the Brother Luminaire

Pattern Connection By Camera on the Brother Luminaire Innov-is XP1, here in referred to as the Luminaire (doesn’t that make me sound official?). You know, when I had initially set up my outline of what Luminaire embroidery features to show off, in my head I had a progression of the camera-based tools, starting from easiest to hardest. So I sequenced the Snowman Positioning first, the Scanner Function second, and we saw how easy the Projector made setup. Now, having not played with Pattern Connection by Camera in a while, I actually thought scheduling it as the fourth in this mini-series was suitable for its ‘level of difficulty’. Not! While reacquainting myself with the process, I rediscovered just how easy it is – so easy I could have put it in at the beginning. However, I do feel that the last couple of features introduced some of the individual steps involved, so it’s all good. After stabilizing an oblong strip of fabric and marking my start point, I clamped it into the large Brother Border Frame and set it onto the machine. Then I set up my design, and of course I played with it. That’s what all the toys are for! I resized it slightly so that 4 repeats will fit down my fabric (yeah, had to some math) and changed the colors to suit my purpose. And – this is important, because I changed the original design: save the changes! (Ask me how I know, LOL.) I’m now ready to progress into the Embroidery screen.

To perfectly place the first design (after all, that one’s on me) I touched the Trial button. Not only will this tool let me trace the design boundaries, it’ll also let me check my design position by referencing any one of the 9 positions you can see in the middle picture, below. After selecting the top center position, I exited this screen and used the regular move tool to position my needle directly over my start mark. In the last picture, you can see me pointing at the needle position drop light.

There's no end to the helpful positioning tools on the Luminaire!

What’s the drop light, you say? Take a look at the next picture; turning on the drop light projects a green cross-hair onto my fabric that I can precisely match up to my own marking. No more needle-up/needle down messin’ about! Once this first design was positioned exactly where I wanted it, I touched the Pattern Connection By Camera button to turn on the function, and stitched my first repeat.

Can you see the green crosshairs along my drawn lines?

Yet another application that makes use of the projection feature.

The Pattern Connection By Camera button activates a wondrous placement tool

When it’s finished, a series of messages pop up, providing step-by-step guidance through the process. OK, I want to connect the next pattern, OK, I won’t remove the material from the frame. And now it wants me to select the next pattern and here’s why I said to save the design if you made any changes – you don’t want to do the same edits over and over. But – and how cool is this – I can also pick a different design; you’re not restricted to repeating the same one! Once it is selected and set, touch the Pattern Connect icon, and choose the layout options. In this case, I want to place the new pattern directly below the first, though there are other choices. Let’s keep it straightforward for the first try, and touch OK.

This time after pressing Scan, the Luminaire does its camera magic to memorize placement, spacing and angle and – again – prompts for the next step: to re-hoop the fabric so the stickers are well within the hoop’s embroidery area. I did that – and even hooped a little crooked, and when I hit Scan for the final time, the Luminairefigured it all out and made it perfect! I even tried hooping so the design would be outside of the hoop area and it made me try again! The screen then prompted me to remove the stickers and stitch. After I stitched it, I repeated this two more times to get my four repeats and now, look at this – perfection!

This built-in design from Zundt looks awesome as a repeated element!

Step-by-step guidance through the process is very user friendly!

Next, I’m prompted to place a snowman sticker on the fabric, directly under its projection. After doing that, and pressing Scan on the screen, I get to do it again with a second snowman.

Pattern Connection By Camera appears to have a lot of steps, but most of them are just pushing the OK button on screen. And not having to worry about hooping perfectly certainly makes up for that! Now all that’s left to do is decide what to do with my panel… and I have a project in mind for that.

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Playing with the Quilting Border Patterns in the Brother Luminaire

I’m an embroidery geek. (Surprise!) It started many years ago when my mom, whom I was working for at the time, announced to me that a few days hence we were running an embroidery class. And I was teaching it. Gulp! For me, the embroidery ‘thing’ just escalated from there. That was back in the days when domestic embroidery machines were just becoming available, when a 4'' x 4'' embroidery area and a glorified calculator-screen were state-of-the-art technology. Do you remember those days? We’ve come a long, long way since then, Baby! This fact is demonstrated so emphatically with the high-tech features I’ve been playing with over the last few days, and no less so with the toy for this feature: the Quilting Border Patterns built-in to the Brother Luminaire Innov-is XP1. Since this isn’t a feature I’ve put to frequent use, I needed a reminder of the process. I was delighted to find, also built right into the Luminaire, a video outlining the steps. It’s like having your own personal tutor!

Three steps to setting the Quilt Border Pattern

As you can see in the pics below, the next few screens show the layout (this setup asks for two hoopings) and has me save the layout to the machine, and then retrieve the master connected design (the one with the connection icon).

Let’s dive right in so I can show what the video showed me. Of course, I’ll put my own twist on it, because I’m still trying to coordinate this with the previous sew-out. Kinda suitable, because I discovered the Quilt Border Patterns share the exact same connection process as the Pattern Connection By Camera. Where it differs is the setup – a wizard guides the process, making all the calculations for me! Gotta love it! After selecting the Quilt Border Patterns category, I Set the pattern I liked and was immediately launched into the layout wizard. Pretty self-explanatory; I was asked for my outside dimensions and the desired pattern size.

The layout is calculated, saved, and retrieved for use.

From here on in, it’s super easy. The first segment of the pattern loads up, and I can scan the hoop contents to get it placed perfectly. Stitch it out and you’ll see a familiar sequence: the steps are all pretty much the same ones I did for Pattern Connection by Camera, except the appropriate ‘next pattern’ loads up automatically. The snowmen are projected onto the fabric, scanned, and recognized before being asked to re-hoop. I followed through the sequence as prompted by the Luminaire, and I’ll admit, I had my doubts; quilt borders are traditionally only a single line of stitching that has to match up perfectly, if it didn’t, in my mind, it would be a glaring error. But… look at the close up on the next page of where the very last stitch joined the very first stitch!

One of the first Brother home embroidery models... and still going strong!

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And guess what? This worked out so well it’s a shoe-in for what I was hoping to do! I trimmed the previous panel to 8'' wide, and this panel to 2'' wider (that’s the key: 2'' wider than the other). I then matched raw edges and seamed them right-sides together with a ½” seam. Yes, the back side was bigger than the front – but you know me by now – method and madness, right? So, seamed, it looks like the picture on the right. Turned right-side out, pressed and voilà! A reversible panel… I love this method of pairing two fabrics (one 2'' wider – remember, that’s the key here) to create a self-bound panel. You can see one side is bold and beautiful and colorful, while the other is more subtle. I’m joining the ends for this and stitch this panel into a round. That round is destined to become a reversible pillow-wrap to spiff up a plain throw pillow. It’s shown here in all autumn tones, but can you envision it on a coordinating sage-green pillow, or perhaps a creamy faux suede? Oh, the possibilities!

An impressive match-up! A stitch-perfect join!

I hope you’ve enjoyed these starter-level applications of the camera functions on the Brother Luminaire – and you’ve learned as much as I have. I find every time I take on a new project (and oftentimes when I repeat a same-old, same-old project) I learn something new. Now… I started off this blog by stating I'm an embroidery geek. And I'm… I love embroidery – but I really love the software. Which means I don’t play a ton with My Design Center on the Luminaire. So… remember how my Mom got me started with embroidery? This time I’ll do it to myself – what better way to learn My Design Center than to have to talk about it? I have been asked to return next issue, and I plan to learn all about My Design Center. I hope you’ll join me!

Liana Kirkey

Turned, it's now pressed and perfect. But not quite done.

Both pieces seamed together with raw edges matched.

Two sides of the same project.

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Quilting with the Husqvarna Viking HUSKYLOCK s25 serger Elaine Theriault

Husqvarna Viking HUSKYLOCK s25 serger

The accessories for the HUSKYLOCK s25 serger

Accessories for the HUSKYLOCK s25 serger

We’re up for something different. A serger? For quilting? Yes.

The thread stand was easy to assemble and place on the back of the serger. The waste tray fits under the front feet of the serger so it doesn’t move. And look what else I found in the box. An extension table. Oh – I’m going to like that for the quilting part.

There’s a nice big foot pedal so you won’t have any problems locating it when you want to get serging.

I’ll be playing with the Husqvarna Viking HUSKYLOCK s25 serger which looks amazing Let’s dive in and see what it’s all about. Setting up the serger I’ve had access to a serger for several years. I don’t use it often, but I wouldn’t want to be without it. People tend to be intimidated by the serger and yes it can be finicky to operate, however, I’ll show how easy the HUSKYLOCK s25 is to use. I’ve got some great tips that’ll make quilting so easy and fast. When I open up the box, this is what I see. Hmm – a lot of bits and pieces, but it’s not hard to put all those pieces onto the serger.

Here’s a better view of the extension table. I must say this serger is big! There’s loads of space to the right of the needle and with the extension table, I feel like I’m sitting at a very large machine. I’m loving this serger already. Here’s a better view of the telescoping thread stand. Notice there’s room for five cones of thread. Yes – this serger also does a cover stitch.

There’s a thread stand, a foot pedal, an accessory box, and a waste tray. Just a few extra things you wouldn’t see in a sewing machine box, but none of these are a big deal to set up.

An important thing to remember when serging – the thread stand needs to be fully extended! Ask me how I know this. One day when I wasn’t home, my daughter tried to use my serger with the thread stand closed down. Things didn’t go so well and I’m trying to help her on the phone!

The accessories are placed on the serger

Telescoping thread stand

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I recently got new flooring in my studio. It’s vinyl with a bit of texture on it. Let’s just say the foot pedals no longer slide around on the floor. Something to think about when and if you’re getting new flooring for your sewing space. While the laminate flooring was nice, the surface was very slippery and the foot pedals flew around the floor. The bonus of this new floor? I can’t see the dust bunnies! Now is that a good thing or a bad thing?

A large foot pedal for the serger

Extension table for the serger

The User’s Guide I’m training myself to stop using the physical User’s Guide that comes with any sewing machine or serger. I’ve started to download all the user guides onto my tablet. That allows me to travel with all my user guides and doesn’t add any weight to my backpack. It’s a great idea! And once you get used to it, it’s no big deal. The user’s guide for the serger is easy to download from the Husqvarna Viking website. The big thing is to make sure you know your way around your tablet so you can easily find the appropriate page when you need it. And there’s no issue about keeping the paper copy open so you can reference it when you’re trying to do something on the machine and your hands are full. I’ve yet to learn to read a novel on the tablet, but I love having the user guides so readily available to me. When I received the serger, it was set up to do a cover stitch. I didn’t want a cover stitch, so I quickly scoured the User’s Guide to figure out how to convert it over to a 4-thread overlock stitch. I must say it was super easy The user guide is downloaded to a tablet to do. The User’s Guide was very clear and easy to follow. And guess what? My test stitch after converting everything worked. First time! That says a lot for how easy it is to change from one type of stitch to another. One must be patient as it does take a few minutes to make the changes. There’s a great chart in the User’s Guide with each of the 25 stitches and the information needed for each including number and position of needles, cutting width, stitch finger setting, and other settings necessary for each stitch. This chart is invaluable! As with anything – the more you use the item, the more familiar you get with how it works. The presser foot Like a sewing machine, the serger has a presser foot which keeps the fabric in place when serging. There’s a slight difference with the serger presser foot. In this photo, you can see the presser foot is sitting right on the stitch plate, but where’s the presser foot lever?? Now the presser foot is in the up position and the lever is The presser foot is in the down position down. Photos by Elaine Theriault

Yep – it works in the opposite direction from a sewing machine. I’m not sure why that is. I don’t need to raise and lower the presser foot like I would on a sewing machine. I’ll be showing more on that later. If I want to release The serger presser foot is in the up position the stitches, it’s easy to do by completely raising the presser foot using the presser foot lever. The threading The serger is a more industrial type machine than the sewing machine and it’s necessary to become familiar with some of the technical stuff inside. In the photo, I’ve opened up the two covers on the front of the serger. Both need to be open for threading and you can see a color-coded diagram on the right to assist with the threading.

The inside of the two front covers of the serger

The left side is where the loopers, that form the underside of the stitches, are located. Here’s a closeup diagram of the threading. I know it looks complicated but once you understand what is what, it’s quite simple.

A close up of the threading guide inside the serger cover

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As I move up, I see a diagram of the stitch (in real size) I’ve chosen as well as the stitch number and name. (Number 4 4-thread overlock side). Above the diagram, I get the suggested needle size based on the settings I’ve chosen. To the right of that is the position of the needles. There are two rows of holes for the needles. In this case, I’m using the middle position on the front row and the leftmost on the back row.

The loopers have been threaded

Not only are the thread paths colorcoded, but they are numbered in the order in which they must be threaded. Failure to follow that order will result in the stitch not working. There’s also a diagram on the left which shows the position of the clutch that engages the upper looper. For stitches 1 – 21, the upper looper is used and for stitches 22 – 25 (cover stitch and chain stitches), the upper looper is disengaged with the clutch.

The large touch screen

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to convert the serger from the cover stitch to the 4-thread overlock. I’m using a 4-thread overlock stitch so I don’t need a fifth cone of thread. Here’s a look at the loopers that have been threaded. It’s a bit hard to see in the picture, but there are small color-coded dots on all the thread guides so it makes it super easy to follow along. The Screen There’s a fairly large touch screen on the front of the HUSKYLOCK s25 serger to help. In the bottom right, you can see there are 5-speed settings to choose from. If you’re a speed demon, keep it at the top, if you’re timid, lower the speed. Sergers are fast. It may also depend on the technique you’re doing, you may want to lower the speed. Function buttons on the serger

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The next function shows me the recommended cutting width. The Exclusive Sewing Advisor is in the top right corner. I get to choose the type and weight of fabric I’m using so the HUSKYLOCK s25 serger does all the tension settings for me. Seriously?? This is amazing!! The big arrows scroll through the different types of stitches. There are 25 in all ranging from 2-thread to 5-thread overlock, chain stitches, cover stitches and a 2 or 3-thread rolled hem. I’m only touching on one stitch in this feature. But I want to try them all. The stitch length can be changed in the bottom right corner and the differential feed setting is in the middle along the bottom. That’s amazing. There’s so much flexibility to the HUSKYLOCK s25 serger. I wish I had more time so I could experiment on more fabrics and more projects. To the right of the touch screen are several more buttons. The top three are related to saving, deleting and retrieving personal stitches. That’s fabulous. When I want to work on something totally crazy, I can create my own stitch! There’s a settings menu and a stitch information menu. So much right at my fingertips. All those things that made sergers scary in the past are gone!

The upper cutter is disengaged

The cutter is now engaged

The test of the 4-thread overlock stitch

The cutter I know the cutter isn’t a big deal. No – it’s a big deal. I’ll show why later when I tackle my project. What I love is how easy it is to change the movable upper cutter position. I don’t need a screwdriver to change it from the down (disengaged) position to the up (engaged) position. I simply pull on the screw, the cutter comes out and I swivel it up and lock it in place. It doesn’t get any easier than that!!! To show how easy it is to convert from one stitch, in this case, coverstitch, to 4-thread overlock, here’s my first test sample after I converted everything. The coverstitch was done in pink thread. My 4-thread overlock was in gray. It worked the first time! That’s how easy it is to operate the HUSKYLOCK s25 serger. There are so many other features I haven’t had time to touch on. The great lighting system on the large workspace, optional presser feet for specialty techniques and more.

Understanding the basics of a serger Another area that scares us with sergers is changing threads and the maintenance. I’ll have a look at both. You won’t believe how simple it is to change the threads or to maintain. Changing the thread Here’s a great tip about the threads. Sergers usually come with four or five cones of different colored thread. Now, why would you want different colors of thread? That’s so you can understand which thread does what in the stitch. I know – how clever is that!

Each thread path is color-coded. This includes the tension slots on the front of the serger, as well as the thread guides for the loopers. When you start serging and you match the color of thread to the thread path, it helps to understand how the stitches are formed. Once you understand that, changing the tension (if necessary) is so easy!

Yellow is for the left needle, red for the right needle, green for the upper looper, and the blue thread for the lower looper.

Four different colored cones of serger thread

Now you know what those different colored threads are to be used for – make sure you play around with the HUSKYLOCK s25 serger so you get comfortable with the stitch formation and proper tension. We are afraid of the unknown so if you experiment and learn – using a serger will be easy! Once you know what thread forms which part of the stitch, then you can put the same color thread on all four or five spools and get started! Each time, you try a new stitch, place these colored spools of thread back on the serger to help you identify which threads are forming each part of your seam.

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Here’s a good question. When you want to change the threads, should you cut those threads, tie the new one to the ends and pull them through or should you rethread the serger from scratch? If you’re in a serger class, they’ll cut those threads so close you can’t tie them off. They want you to be able to practice threading the serger! But once you’ve done it a time or two, there’s no need for that. I clip the upper and lower looper threads far enough back, so I can tie the new thread on. I usually thread the needles from scratch.

Tie off the old and new threads when changing threads

Once the threads are tied off or rethreaded through the needle, do a couple of practice runs to ensure everything is working properly and to ensure the old thread color has been used up. The tension

A test seam of the 4-thread overlock stitch

The reverse side of test seam of the 4-thread overlock stitch

Here’s my first test seam after changing the thread colors. You can see the yellow (at the very bottom of the seam) from the left-most needle, the red thread from the right needle, the green thread from the upper looper and the blue thread is on the back from the lower looper. Here’s the reverse side of the seam. My blue and green threads are very close in color so they don’t show up that well.

Hmm – there are two things I’m not thrilled about. The red needle thread is showing a bit too much on the back, although it’s not a big deal as you would not usually have the thread colors so different. But the upper looper thread is too loose – see how it’s folding over from the front to the back. Or – it could be the lower looper is too tight. I did set the Sewing Advisor to Woven Medium, which automatically sets the tension, however, you may need to tweak the tensions from time to time. There’s an excellent guide in the User’s Guide for fine-tuning the tension settings. In this case, I increased the upper tension on the right needle (red). That reduced the amount of thread showing through to the wrong side. It also helped to correct the loose upper looper, but the green thread (upper looper) is still a wee bit too loose (also could be the lower looper is too tight). I tightened the upper looper and you can see I now have a very nice 4-thread overlock stitch. In the photo, you can see the loops are forming beyond the edge of the fabric in the top example, while the bottom example has the loops forming right alongside the fabric. That’s what I want.

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The bottom example has better tension than the top, but still needs a bit of tweaking

The bottom example is the correct tension

Now I’m ready to serge! When you change the tension settings, a pop-up window appears on the touch screen. When the numbers are highlighted in black, you know it’s no longer in the default position. The lint! If you’re using the cutter, a lot of lint can collect inside the serger. It’s a good idea to clean the area out frequently. It’s easy enough to do – open the two doors on the front of the serger and using a brush or a small vacuum, remove the lint. I like to use a small vacuum or even the large vacuum as it sucks the lint away, while a brush can push some of the lint further into the serger. It’s not good to use canned air in this step as that just blows the lint further into the serger and that’s not what I want. You’ll also need to oil the serger according to the schedule outlined in the User’s Guide. The oil comes with the serger and you’ll have enough to last for a long time. The tweezer (also included with Lint collected inside the seger the serger) are very useful when threading the serger. It helps for threading the loopers and the needles.

Tension settings pop up screen appears when you start to play with the tens

The serger will also trim the fabrics as it performs the overlock stitch, something a sewing machine doesn’t do. While I can perform this step on the sewing machine, my preference is to use the overlock stitch on the serger. It’s much faster. The cover stitch is a stitch that is used to finish off the edge of a garment, usually a knit garment. It provides the two lines you see on the hem of a T-shirt. A serger either comes with a cover stitch or it doesn’t. It’s not something that can be added later. There’s a special cover stitch table that fits on the front of the serger. A few other changes which are all very well outlined in the User’s Guide and you’re ready to serge a cover stitch. The Husqvarna Viking HUSKYLOCK s25 serger is a cover stitch machine. Now that I’ve given you a tour of the main features of the Husqvarna Viking HUSKYLOCK s25 serger and I’ve shown you how easy it is to change threads and keep up with the maintenance of the serger, next up are a couple of projects.

Defining terms Before I wrap up this feature, I thought I would clarify a couple of terms I’ve used. You might be A tube of oil and a pair of tweezers are part of the serger accessories wondering what’s the difference between an overcast stitch and an overlock stitch. An overcast and an overlock stitch are essentially the same in that they are both used to create and finish the edges of a seam. However, the big difference is an overcast stitch is performed on a sewing machine, while the overlock stitch is performed on a serger. Check out the stitches on your sewing machine. You likely have several different overcast stitches available to you, at least one for woven fabrics and another for knits.

A 4-thread overlock stitch, a sewing machine overcast stitch, and a serger cover stitch

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How to piece a quilt using a serger I will make a quilt with the Husqvarna Viking HUSKYLOCK s25 serger. Really? You can make a quilt with a serger? Oh yes! It’s super simple and there are some advantages which I’ll be sharing with you as I progress with the quilt top. Let’s get started! I’m sure there’s someone out there who makes complex quilts on the serger. Since I want you to be successful with your first attempt, let’s start with something fairly simple. I’m sure you’ve heard of a jelly roll quilt – well that’s the sample for this feature. With my newly organized sewing studio, it was a breeze to dig through the box of precuts and come up with a jelly roll that would work for this project. A quick note about my jelly roll in case you have questions as I show you the pictures. This was made by a local shop, not one of the mass-produced jelly rolls. The strips were not cut accurately. I didn’t worry about that and I’ll show you why as I make the quilt. The math of the jelly roll quilt Here’s a quick note about the size of the jelly roll quilt and how you can change the size if you want. Let’s say I start with 40 strips of fabric that are cut 2½” wide and measure approximately 42'' – 43'' in length. I’ll join the strips end to end with a diagonal or a straight seam or even by adding a small square in between the strips. Running a test of the 4-thread overlock stitch

To keep this simple, I will assume each strip measures 40'' once they are sewn together. Once the 40 strips are joined together, I now have a 1,600'' (40 strips x 40'') long strip that is 2½” wide. That’s a very long strip and would make a very skinny quilt. I’m calling this 1,600'' the width of the quilt since the seams are horizontal. Essentially what I’m doing is cutting the long strip into two equal pieces and sewing them together to get a new (doublewide) strip which measures 800'' wide x 4½” length. Still a very wide and short quilt. When I cut the double-wide strip in half and sew the two halves together, the width is now 400'' and the length is 8½”. Repeating the process one more time, the quilt is now 200'' wide x 16½” long. One more time to get a width of 100'' x 32½”. One last cut and sewing the two halves together will result in a quilt 50'' wide x 64½” long. Isn’t it crazy how it works? It’s a perfect size for a quilt.

Raise the front of the presser foot to insert the next pieces of fabric

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If you want to make the quilt longer, you must use wider strips. Using 2½” strips will always yield a quilt 64½” in length. If you want the quilt to be wider, then you add more fabric strips and make the initial length of the first strip longer than 1,600''. Now that you understand that math, let’s get started making a jelly roll quilt with the serger. Set up the serger As I mentioned earlier, there are 25 different stitches on the HUSKYLOCK s25, including 2, 3, 4, and 5-thread overlock options, as well as chain and cover stitches. I’ll be using the 4-thread overlock stitch to assemble my quilt. It’s a good idea to do a test run on a scrap of fabric before starting. This fabric should be the same type and weight of fabric as your project. This test will help to ensure all the settings are correct including the cutter, the tension, etc.

A 4-thread overlock test swatch

I mentioned the presser foot… I’m chain piecing these strips together and I don’t need to lift the presser foot using the lever for each new seam. I simply lift the front of the presser foot and insert the next pieces of fabric. There’s my 4-thread overlock stitch. It looks great. Now how does that equate to a ¼” seam allowance? It’s an exact ¼”. Since some of my strips are slightly wider than 2½”, I won’t worry about a scant seam allowance. It’s possible to change the stitch width, but I’m happy with this width. Remember, I’m using the Exclusive Sewing Advisor to get the best tension and stitch length for the fabric type and weight.

The seam allowance is ¼"

This is super easy. But wait – you’ll love what happens when I start to sew.

Step 1 – sort the strips You can choose to sort the strips or not. I had two each of 20 colors in my jelly roll so I separated them into two piles.

Step 2 – sort by color Within each of the two sets of strips, I sorted the strips by color. I did this to randomize the placement of the colors. I should know better by now this will not always work. But it was fun petting the fabric. I could get technical and figure out the placement of each strip if it was really important, but where’s the fun in that? Besides, it takes up valuable time.

The strips were sorted into two piles

Step 3 – the selvage Selvages are put on fabric to assist in the manufacturing process. They are not intended to be used in projects. Some selvages are white and some are the same color as the fabric.

Go for somewhat random and it’ll be fine.

Fabric selvages

Strips are sorted by color

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One of the fabrics even has a number written on the wrong side (which shows through to the front) so I don’t want that in my quilt.

A black mark on the wrong side of one of my strips

If I were sewing this quilt on the sewing machine, I’d have to trim all those selvages off before I start to sew. No need when serging the strips together. The cutter makes quick work of trimming all the selvages off while I serge the seams. The cut-off ends drop nicely into the waste tray just below the cutter.

A serger seam is meant to have more ease in it than a seam created by the sewing machine. However, look at the quality of this seam. You can’t see the stitches from the front. You’ll notice those threads at both ends of the seam. Don’t touch them. Wait to see what happens to them when I move to the next step.

This saves a whole lot of time. And no danger of getting the strips mixed up if I had added in the additional step of trimming the selvages off. I chain serged (pieced) the strip ends together and the selvages were trimmed at the same time. This was fast. Once I was finished joining all the strips together, I chained off about 6'' of thread – this is a very important step as it makes it a whole lot easier to start the next line of sewing. No danger the needles or loopers will come unthreaded. There’s a handy built-in cutter on the back of the serger so I don’t need scissors. Trimming the selvages while serging the seams

The stitches do not appear on the front of the project

Step 4 – seam 1 Now I start to sew the strips together along the length of the strips. Take both ends of the fabric and lay them right sides together. In my photo below, I had not cut the selvage off the ends before I took the photo. Make sure to remove the selvage from the ends before starting as you don’t want those selvages in your quilt.

Lay both ends of the fabric right sides together

Keep the edges together and serge down the entire length of the strip. You’ll notice nothing is being trimmed off by the cutter. The edges of the jelly roll strips are running right beside the cutter.

The strip ends were chain serged (pieced)

A built-in thread cutter on the back of the serger

Chain off about 6" at the end of the seam

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I made a MISTAKE I was merrily serging along until I came to the end of the first strip. Oh – I forgot to offset one of the ends so the seams joining the strips won’t line up with each other. How could I be so silly? I was so excited to get to the sewing part I forgot that little step. Now I not only have to rip out, but I have to rip a serged seam which isn’t fun – or is it?

Ripping out a serged seam

I used a regular seam ripper to slice through the looper threads as shown. In a very short time, the errant seam was out. Nothing is being cut off while the seam is being serged

Once the stitching was removed, I cut about 20'' off the end of one of the strips. I’m glad this happened. I know I’ve always been afraid of using the serger to sew because I was afraid of how I would deal with just such an incident. Clipping the looper threads with a regular seam ripper made quick work of the error and I was back in business. Now get out your jelly roll so you can follow along.

Finishing off the serged jelly roll quilt with a border

A 20" length of fabric removed from one end of the long strip

Seam 1 After all the strips have been joined end to end, make sure to cut part of one strip away so when sewing the long strips together, the short seams don’t fall beside each other. I cut about 20'' away. Make sure to trim the selvage from the other end as well. Then lay the two ends on top of each other with right sides together. It doesn’t matter if the strip is twisted. After I had the two ends of the long strip in my hand, I plopped the rest of the bundle on the floor. Remember those long threads that resulted from chain serging the strips end to end? Since I have the cutter engaged, those thread ends will be cut off. No need for me to do that by hand. More time saved!

Lay the two strip ends right sides together

The bundle of strips was placed on the floor

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Seam 2

Notice I’m only cutting the threads off, not the fabrics.

I will repeat this same process for the second seam. Grab the beginning and the end of the 2-strip wide piece being careful to not twist the strip. If you created an accordion-fold when you pressed the seam, this will be easy. Lay the two ends right sides together and serge away. Again, I plopped the pile on the floor. If I keep both ends in my hand and the fabric is not twisted, it’s no problem to do this. As I neared the end of the strip of fabric, there was a loop in the bottom. I cut the loop with the scissors before I got to the bottom and then I serged off the end of the fabric strip. My finger served as a guide for the two pieces of fabric

Thread ends are being trimmed with the cutter

Here’s another time-saver. I mentioned my strips had been hand-cut at a local shop. They were not even. Some strips were wider than others. Instead of me trying to recut them, I simply used the serger to cut off the excess fabric whenever it needed to be cut off. More time saved!

At the end of the first seam, the fabric strip may be twisted or it may not. Simply take a pair of scissors and cut through the middle of the long strip so I can sew off the end. Make sure to cut the strip before serging to the end or you won’t be able to serge to the end. I didn’t take a picture at the end of the first seam, but there’s one in another seam to show what I mean. I’m a presser. I like Pressing the first long to press all seams seam as I go. So I took my wide, short quilt to the ironing board and pressed the seam towards one of the fabrics.

Using the serger cutter to trim the excess width from the fabric strip

I placed my finger between the two strips to act as a guide which helped to line up the two strips. My strips weren’t exactly lined up but that’s OK. They were close enough. I’m making a jelly roll quilt, not an heirloom.

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As I pressed the seam, I folded the double-wide strip accordion-style so it wouldn’t twist on me.

The loop at the bottom has been cut open with scissors so the end of the seam can be serged

Then I went back to the ironing board and pressed the seam to one side. I folded the strip accordion-style to prevent twisting when I went to match the bottom end with the top in preparation for the next seam.

Pressing the second seam

Seam 3

Seam 4

The process is the same as for seam one and two. Each of my quilt sections now has four strips of fabric in it. Notice how much space I still have on the HUSKYLOCK s25 serger extension table. That’s a lot of room and no danger of fabric falling off the edge of the table.

I will repeat this process one more time. Notice I still have room on the extension table to support the quilt.

Be careful when you arrive at the short seams so they don’t get twisted.

Seam 5

I’m using the scissors to cut the bottom open before I get to the end of the seam. It’s easy to cut because of the width of the extension table. Seam five is the same, except I folded the strip in half and cut it while it was on the table. Then I joined the two halves and serged the last seam.

Pressing seam three Plenty of room on the extension table to support the project Cut the last loop on the table to ensure the cut is straight

In this photo, I’m arriving at the end of the seam three. You can see I’ve arrived at the ‘middle’ of the big strip. I used my scissors to cut the end open and then serged off the end.

I’m serging the final seam and there’s still lots of room on the extension table to hold the quilt.

Then it was back to the ironing board where I pressed the seam to one side.

Serging the fourth seam

Serging the two halves of the quilt together

That’s the jelly roll quilt – assembled with the serger and it was fast. No cutting, no trimming – just set up the serger and go.

The loop in the middle of the long strip which needs to be cut open with scissors so the end of the seam can be serged

Not all the seams will go in the same direction. It’s the nature of this style of quilt and there’s no issue with the direction in which the seams are pressed on the jelly roll quilt.

Cutting the bottom loop on the fourth seam

Out of curiosity, I measured my quilt when this part of it was complete. By the math calculation at the start, it was supposed to measure 50½” x 64½”. That’s in an ideal world. My top measured 53½” wide because my fabric strips were slightly longer than 40''. The length ended up being 65½” because some of the strips were a bit wider than 2½”. I’m thrilled with the results. But I want to put a border on it to make it just a wee bit bigger.

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Cutting the directional border print When I bought the jelly roll, I had also purchased 1 yard of a coordinating fabric. It was directional. I hate directional fabric. That’s not true – I like it, it just requires special handling. I cut enough strips parallel to the border for the sides of the quilt. Cutting directional fabric parallel to the selvage for the side borders

Notice I did cut the selvage off as I was cutting the strips. Then I cut crosswise strips for the top and the bottom borders. There’s an entire science to this process which I won’t get into here. While I like directional prints, they take a bit more thought when cutting if you want them to remain in the correct orientation.

Cutting crosswise strips for the top and bottom borders

Because of the print, I cut off the selvages and joined the strips using a straight seam on the serger rather than a diagonal seam.

Trimming the threads using the cutter

I then proceeded to measure and cut my borders as I would with any quilt. I pinned the borders to the quilt just the same as if I were using the sewing machine. I’m not a pinner for normal piecing, but I always pin borders as I want them to help square up the quilt. Measuring the length of borders required

Note: REMOVE ALL pins before you get to the cutter. You do NOT want to run a pin through the cutter. As I add the borders with the serger, I’m again cutting any of the loose threads away.

The back is almost as neat as the front

The binding I pieced the binding on the sewing machine as I wanted to open up the diagonal seam to help reduce bulk in the binding.

And in a very short time (less time than it took to write this feature), the quilt top was together. Have you ever seen such a tidy quilt backing??? It’s pristine!!! No loose threads or frayed edges. I know my strips were pinked to start, but the back of the quilt would look the same even if the edges were NOT pinked. It doesn’t get any easier than that. I could easily make several of these quilt tops in one day.

Remove the pins before it gets to the cutter

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The binding seams were pieced on the sewing machine and pressed open

The backing

The REVEAL

I’m on a kick to get everything in my studio super organized. I have a lot of fabric yardage that was purchased for quilt backings. Most of it was hidden Yardage amount is away behind other things and not easily pinned to each piece of backing fabric accessible.

It doesn’t matter what Murphy is doing, but the moment I lay out a quilt for a picture, she’s there to inspect. I think it’s more likely she likes having her picture taken!

I’ve now got all the backing yardage on open shelves and each piece has been measured (roughly) and the yardage is pinned to each piece. It’s scary how quickly I can find an appropriate fabric for the quilt backings. I’m talking seconds here – not minutes or hours! I cut the yardage in half and instead of trimming off the seam allowances with the rotary cutter, I used the serger to trim the selvage and sew the seam at the same time. More time saved!!

Ah – here’s the finished quilt top. When I finish a quilt top, I like to also make the binding and the backing at that time. It’s a lot harder to not finish the top when everything is ready. Did you notice even with all my ‘planning’, many of the colored strips ended up side by side? I don’t know why I even bother to do any planning! There you have it. A fast way to put a quilt top together.

Trimming and serging the seam for the backing in one step

Murphy checking out the latest quilt top.

The completed jelly roll quilt with borders

If you’re a member of a group that sews quilts for community projects, you should consider the jelly roll quilt and the Husqvarna Viking HUSKYLOCK™ s25 serger. The quilt goes together fast, there are no threads The binding, the backing, and the quilt top - ready for quilting to trim and you save so much time by using the cutter on the serger to get rid of all the loose bits. I think I’ll be using the serger for quilting a whole lot more.

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Making a reusable produce bag using a serger I’m using the Husqvarna Viking HUSKYLOCK s25 serger to make a non-quilting item. But that’s okay because quilters don’t just make quilts. We’ve all become more environmentally aware and I’ve been wanting to make some reusable produce bags for a while. So that’s what I’m making. The produce bag looks very attractive on the counter

Materials

Finishing the top edge

I pondered what type of material to use for the produce bags. I wanted something see-through so it would be easy at the checkout to read the product code. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money.

I decided to leave the HUSKYLOCK s25 serger set up the same as it was for the jelly roll quilt. I used a 4-thread overlock stitch and I left the cutter in place. I know quilters like to keep things simple so even though there might have been a different stitch I could have used, the 4-thread overlock stitch worked just fine.

I happened to be in a window covering shop a while back and thought of the sheer material used for window coverings. I scouted around and found exactly what I was looking for. It’s sheer and it’s sturdy.

A sheer fabric used for window coverings

I bought one yard of the fabric which was very wide – somewhere in the neighborhood of 120'' wide. It was less than $10. I should be able to get a lot of produce bags from this piece. I also needed some cording for the top. I found packages of 3/16” white cord at the local craft shop.

Serge along the top edge.

White cording 3/16" in diameter

Cutting I cut 10 pieces measuring 17'' (length) x 20'' (width). There was a bit of sheer fabric leftover and I was able to cut 4 more pieces measuring 13'' (length) x 20'' (width). Each piece will make one produce bag.

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This fabric doesn’t fray so it probably wasn’t necessary to serge the top edge, but hey – the serger is sitting right there and it’s an easy seam. I serged the top edge. I’m cutting those thread ends off with the rotary cutter so I chain serged the top edges of all the pieces.

The pieces of sheer have been cut down to size.

In the photo below, you can see I’m arriving at the portion that has been turned back.

This is what it looks like when I’ve finished serging the seam. Note: The top 3'' of the seam has been left open. This will get folded down and stitched in place to make the channel for the cording.

Chain serging the top edges of the produce bags

This edge will be turned to the inside so I didn’t bother securing the thread ends of the serged seam. I simply cut them off with the rotary cutter.

The top 3" of the seam has been left open. Arriving at the 3" mark from the top

To serge off and leave those two edges free, simply move the fabric to the left of the needles and keep serging. Make sure to chain off at the end with about 6'' of thread so you can finish off the end of the seam.

I use a skinny bodkin to feed the serger thread back into the loops on the serged seam.

Trim away the thread ends

The side seam I folded back the seam allowance (a long narrow fold) on both sides at the top of the bag. You can pin these back if you want. Alternatively, you can put a pin in as a marker about 3'' below the top of the bag. Starting at the bottom, serge until you get to the 3'' mark. Then serge off the side of the bag, leaving the top 3'' on both sides open.

Bodkin for inserting the serger thread back into itself

You can also eyeball the mark – just don’t forget and serge right to the top! Push the fabric to the left to serge off the side seam.

Pin the seam allowance out of the way.

Feeding the thread end back into the loops of the seam

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The bottom

It’s not necessary to thread the entire loose end back into the seam. I usually aim for the length of the bodkin needle. Any excess can be trimmed away.

Starting at the side with the seam, serge the bottom of the bag leaving a thread tail at both ends so the seam ends can be finished.

The last seam - the bottom The seam allowances at the top of the side seam have been secured

Finishing the top Excess thread after feeding the end into the seam can be trimmed away

It’s hard to see in the photo below, but the thread ends have been fed back into the loops of the serged seam.

If you decide to chain serge this seam, make sure to leave a long thread tail at the ends so you can finish the end off properly.

I folded the top edge down about 1'' to create a channel for the cord to go through. I also sewed this in place using the sewing machine. Make sure to secure the beginning and end of the seam with the fix function. I used the sewing machine in the free arm position to make it easier to sew around the seam. Leave a thread tail at both ends so they can be threaded back through the seam

Once I’ve used the bodkin to thread the tails back into the loops of the seam, I secured it by adding a dab of Fray Block.

The thread ends are tucked back into the seam

I folded both of the seam allowances back and sewed them in place using the sewing machine. Make sure to secure the threads using the fix function at the beginning and end of both seams.

Fold the top edge down about 1" and secure with a line of stitching

Use Fray Block to prevent thread from working loose

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Thread the cord Cut a length of cord about 27'' long. You want it to be as long as 2 x the width of your bag (my bags are about 10'' wide) and a little extra (about 7'') so you can tie a knot. Using a bodkin, thread the cord through the channel at the top of the bag. Turn the bag right side out (the seams will be on the inside). There’s the finished reusable produce Use a large bodkin to thread the cord bag. It was fast and inexpensive to make these bags.

My completed stack of reusable produce bags

They look awesome! You could almost leave your produce sitting on the kitchen counter in these bags! Much more attractive than plastic. This was such an easy project, I went ahead and finished all the bags. I’m keeping mine with my reusable grocery bags so I The finished produce bag won’t forget them. Wait, I just showed them to my husband who also does some of the grocery shopping. He took them all! I just received an e-mail from one of my local fabric shops. Oh no – look what I found. Mesh in amazing colors. Now I have visions of laundry bags, clothing bags for the gym, bags for travel, and a whole lot more. All I have to do is change the size of each bag for its intended purpose. There you have it! 5 articles of serging! While I’m a quilter, I’ve had access to a serger for many years. I wouldn’t be without it. It’s so fast to finish off the edges of projects – could be a bag, could be a garment, could be anything. I haven’t thought much about using it for quilting. But after my experience with the jelly roll quilt, I might just be using my serger for quilting way more often.

Mesh in bright bold colors

It was great fun to play with Husqvarna Viking HUSKYLOCK s25 serger and it wasn’t complicated at all. The important thing to remember with a serger is the order of threading! I’ve barely scratched the surface of all this amazing serger can do. I had a blast and I hope you picked up a couple of tips. Have a great day! Ciao!

Elaine Theriault

crazyquilteronabike.blogspot.ca

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TrueCut System has the tools you want for perfect quilt cuts every time! Paul Leger

TrueCut My Perfect Rotary Cutter

Square Peg Round Hole Quilt

I’m excited to work on a quilt top design that I call: Square Peg – Round Hole. With a name like that, you’d be right in thinking we’ll be working with squares and circles. To make this quilt, I’ll use a variety of excellent tools from the TrueCut collection. First off, let me introduce a little number called: TrueCut My Perfect Rotary Cutter; specially designed to work beautifully with the suite of TrueCut rulers. For maximum versatility, My Perfect Rotary Cutter comes in 28mm, 45mm and 60mm sizes. As I hinted above, TrueCut also makes rulers. A great design feature of the rulers is that they’re designed with a special edge. When a ruler is used with a TrueCut rotary cutter, you’re guaranteed to make beautiful, accurate fabric cuts. The rotary cutter won’t stray from the edge of the ruler.

Square Peg-Round Hole quilt

TrueCut My Perfect Rotary Cutter along with the TrueCut Ruler are a perfect match.

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A piece of fabric cut without using a TrueCut My Perfect Rotary Cutter may cause a wave cut.

TrueCut 360º circle cutter

Photo by Tania Denyer

The result? You’ll no longer have wavy cuts! All of your cuts will be precise and perfect. To create this quilt, I decided to use these TrueCut rulers:

• 6½” x 6½” [16.5 x 16.5cm] • 12½” X 12½” [31.75 x 31.75cm] • 6½” X 24½” [16.5 x 62.2cm]

The TrueGrips rings adheres to rulers without glue.

To add an extra bit of fun, I’ll also use the TrueCut 360º Circle Cutter.

Now, without further ado, let’s get a quick look at our project here!

Along with the TrueCut rulers and cutters, here’s another must-have: TrueGrips NonSlip Adhesive Rings.

This quilt will measure approximately 76” X 87” before it’s quilted. Below is a diagram of my initial vision for the quilt top. There will be full circles and full squares, but with all the great tools we’ll have at our disposal, some blocks will have half and quarter circles as well as half and quarter squares.

I started quilting over 30 years ago, and in that time I’ve noticed that rulers tend to slip and slide on fabrics when you’re trying to cut. I’ve tried a couple of tricks to stop the slip-sliding and TrueGrips have worked best for me.

Keep reading for some new techniques introduced along with some handy tips. For instance, I’ll be showing you how to cut long fabric strips using the TrueCut 6½” X 24½” quilting ruler along with the My Perfect Rotary Cutter. Using TrueCut My Perfect Rotary Cutter together with a TrueCut Quilting ruler guarantees a clean cut!

The adhesive rings are opaque allowing you to see the fabrics. TrueGrips Non-Slip Adhesive Rings sheet

TrueGrips are easy to use; you simply peel and stick them to the underside of the ruler. They’re opaque and don’t interfere with cutting. A single package contains 15 large and 15 small non-slip rings. TIP I love the small ones; they work great on smaller rulers and templates.

Photos by Paul Leger

The quilt layout

TrueGrips Non-Slip Adhesive Rings

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The trick to cutting long pieces of fabric is in the fold! To make this quilt, you’ll need 5 yards of background fabric. I chose Northcott White on White Single Colorway (81201-10). TIP Before you cut any of the background fabric, please read to the end. TrueCut quilting rulers are clearly marked and transparent to make fabric cutting easier.

First off, I’ll just let you know that I prefer to unfold the fabric by its width and fold it by its length. When you need to cut lengths between:

• 23” and 46”, fold once, you’ll have 2 layers of fabric; • 46” and 94” fold twice, you’ll have 4 layers; • 94” and 142” fold 3 times, you’ll have 8 layers. A good, sharp rotary cutter blade will easily cut through 8 layers of fabric.

Northcott White on White

From the background fabric you’ll need to cut the following:

• (7) 1½” X 76½” strips, horizontal lattice strips * • (2) 1½” X 78½” strips, top and bottom strips (optional outer • • • •

border) * (2) 1½” X 87½” strips, side strips (optional outer border) * (88) 1½” X 10½” strips, vertical lattice and block strips (56) 1½” X 5” strips, block strips (35) 10½” X 10½” squares

*When cutting long strips, I cut the strip 1” to 2” longer than needed, just in case. When I designed this quilt, I kept in mind that I’d been asked, on a few occasions, how to cut long strips of fabric. From the fabric requirements list, you can see that the quilt will use long strips. Have no fear, I’ll show you how to cut them!

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Fabric folded prior to cutting long strips.

The first cuts you make from your background fabric(s) should be the longer strips. You’ll need a total of 11 long strips. From the 5 yards of background fabric, cut a piece of fabric measuring not less than 2½ yards (90”). I would even add an additional 2”- 3”, just to be sure. To get the lengths needed for this quilt project I’ll need to fold the fabric twice and will be cutting through 4 layers. When folding, it’s important to ensure that: • the edges of the fabrics are all aligned • the folds are tight • the fabric lies flat on the cutting table Using your TrueCut 6½” x 24½” ruler, square the fabric off, then cut a total of 11 strips. Cut those 11 strips down to the required lengths as listed above. TIP Don’t discard the shorter pieces of fabric! You’ll be able to get some of the smaller 1½” strips from these.

Align the TrueCut ruler to the edge of the fabric.

Cut long strips at 1½” intervals.

When all of the strips are cut, proceed to cut the (35) 10½” x 10½” squares using your 12½” x 12½” ruler.

TIP When cutting pieces of varying sizes, I always start with the longest piece first, followed by the largest pieces, then the smaller pieces using any remaining pieces of fabric.

Leave the fabric folded in 2, it’ll be easy to cut through 2 thicknesses of fabric. You could even fold your fabric one more time and cut through 4 thicknesses.

10½” x 10½” squares using the True Cut 12½” x 12½” ruler.

Now that the background fabric is all cut out and ready to go, let’s take a well-deserved break.

Keep your cut fabrics separated in individual piles and identify the length of the strips.

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TrueCut 360º Circle Cutter makes In this segement I'm using TrueCut 6½” x 6½” and 12½” x 12½” quilting rulers and the TrueCut 360ºCircle Cutter, to cut the accent color fabrics for the Square Peg – Round Hole Quilt. For the accent colors, I’m using a fat quarter (FQ) from every fabric of the Banyan Batiks Lustre collection. I love color! In other words, I’ll be using 23 FQs! Depending on your color choices, you may only need 21 FQs. TIP Once again, before you cut into any of the accent fabrics, please read to the end of these instructions. From the accent fabrics you’ll need to cut the following: TrueCut 360º Circle Cutter

• • • •

(21) 10” circles (7) 10½” x 10½” squares (14) 5” x 10½” rectangles (28) 5” x 5” squares

You’ll also need (21) 10” x 10” squares of HeatnBond Non-Woven Light Weight Fusible Interfacing. Let’s start by cutting out the 21 HeatnBond interfacing squares. First, draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on the paper side of each interfacing square. Once the lines are all marked, press 1 interfacing square onto the back of each fat quarter, paper side up, and follow HeatnBond’s temperature instructions. Place the interfacing square on the edge of the fat quarter as shown in photo. Next, adjust your TrueCut 360º Circle Cutter for a 10” diameter circle. Banyan Batiks Lustre collection

TrueCut 360º Circle Cutter adjusted to cat a 10” diameter circle. Fuse HeatnBond fusible interfacing square on the back of fabric.

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perfect fabric circles effortless! Align the circle cutter at the X where the lines intersect on the interfacing backing paper.

Once all the circles have been cut, go ahead and cut the remaining pieces for the accent colors, refer to the list.

Center the TrueCut 360º Circle Cutter pin over the the center of interfacing.

The square and rectangle pieces of fabrics needed for the quilt.

Now, the slightly tricky part. Think of it as yoga for your hands!

For this next step, you’ll need the (21) 10½” x 10½” background squares.

With your non-dominant hand, apply firm pressure on the circle cutter’s silver adjustment knob. With your dominant hand, using the same pressure you would when using a rotary cutter, press down on the outer (blue) knob and move your dominant hand in a full circular motion to cut a 360º circle.

Halfway down all 4 sides of all 21 squares make a small, light pencil line ¼” from the edge of the fabric. Place a circle on top of each square, aligning it ¼” from the edge of the square using the pencil lines as a guide. I exaggerated the darkness of the pencil lines in the next photo so they can easily be seen.

Align the circles on the background fabric using the ¼” marks.

Doing a full circular motion will cut the required 360º circle.

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Now, I’ll also stitch around the edge of every circle with a small blind hem stitch and a monofilament thread. TIP The only reason I‘m using monofilament thread is so that the thread is barely visible. If I use regular thread, I’d have to change the thread often to match the fabric as closely as possible. It’ll be fun to try this stitch for the first time on the Husqvarna EPIC-980Q machine!

From 14 circle cut (28) 5” x 10½” half circle pieces.

Take (14) 5” x 10½” half circle pieces from the 28 you just cut. From the outer corners, using the 6½” x 6½” ruler, cut 5” x 5” squares as shown below. When done you’ll have (28) 5” x 5” squares.

From 14 half circle pieces cut (28) 5” x 5” quarter circles.

Wow, all the cutting is done. Secure edge of circle using your favorite applique stitch.

Look at all these beautiful cut pieces of fabrics all ready for piecing together!

When all of the stitching is done I need to finish the cutting. From the 21 blocks with circles, put 7 aside and take the remaining 14 blocks to the cutting table. Using your 12½” x 12½” ruler, remove a ½” strip from the center of each block. TIP The easiest way to do this is by measuring 5” from the outer edge, then cutting. Repeat this step from the opposite edge of the circle. When you’re done, you’ll have (28) 5” x 5” half circle pieces.

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Sorting all your pieces will make it easier.

Assembling the Square Peg Round Hole Quilt Nicked rotary blades? No problem with TrueCut Power Rotary Blade Sharpener

You’ll need the following to create 42 blocks:

• the 1½” x 5” strips • the 5” x 5” ¼ circle-squares • the 5” x 5” squares Place all of those ¼ circle-squares and the 5” x 5” squares in a box or a bag and mix them up. Leave them in the box or bag. Now for the fun part: reach into the box or bag–no peeking– and take out a random piece and sew a 1½” x 5” strip along one of its edges. Repeat this step 28 times. Note: If you pick one of the ¼ circle-square pieces don't sew a 1½” x 5” strip on the sides that have background fabric.

TrueCut TrueSharp Power Rotary Blade Sharpener

Before we begin to assemble the quilt, I want to highlight the following rotary blade sharpener: the TrueCut TrueSharp Power Rotary Blade Sharpener. With a name like that even Tim “The Toolman” Taylor would want one! What a great show that was– but I digress. The TrueCut Power Rotary Blade Sharpener will also take care of any nicks in the blade! Blades are expensive and it hurts my bank account when they get nicked and are no longer usable. The Power Rotary Blade Sharpener will fix those nicks–saving time, fabric, patience and money.

Sew a 1½” x 5” strip to a 5” x5” quarter circle or square.

When you’re done the remaining (28) 5” x 5” squares, sew them to the other side of the background strips.

This sharpener comes with everything you need to sharpen your blades including diamond-grit sharpening stones, a rotary blade handler, sharpening oil and a cleaning cloth

Another fun fact: It sharpens 28mm, 45mm, and 60mm blades! Once a 1½” x 5” strip is sewn to a 5” x 5” quarter circle or square, sew another 5” x 5” piece.

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You should now have (28) 5” x 10½” pieces as in the photo below:

Take the remaining 5” x 10½” pieces and sew them to the other side of the background strips.

Examples of some of the 5” x 10½” pieces sewn.

I hope you still have your box or bag, we still need it! Next, you’ll need:

• all 5” x 10½” sets which you just sewed together; along with • all the 5” x 10½” accent colors • all half circles Piece these exactly as the first set of ‘quarter circle’ pieces but using the 1½” x 10½” strips this time.

Using the remaining (28) 5” x 10½” sections, sew on the other side of the 1½” x 10½” strip.

With the 7 10½” x 10½” accent blocks and the 7 10½” x 10½” full circle blocks, you should now have 42 completed blocks. Those 42 blocks should look like the photo below:

Pull out each of the 28 pieces of fabric and sew the background strips to them.

Sew a 1½” x 10½” along 28 pieces of 5” x 10½”.

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Selection of completed quilt blocks

Finishing the Square Peg Round Hole Quilt First step is to separate the 28 blocks pieced yesterday into 2 piles of 14. Take the 7 circle 10½” x 10½” blocks and place them with one of the piles and take the (7) 10½” x 10½” accent color blocks and add them to the other pile.

So, begin sewing rows and sew a 1½” x 10½” strip between each block.

You’ll also need the remaining (48) 1½” x 10½” background strips, the 10½” x 10½” background squares as well as the quilt layout I provided in Monday’s post. Rather than make you hunt that up, to make your life easier, you can click here to get a PDF copy. As you can see from the layout, there are 2 main sections; I’ll refer to them as the upper corner and the lower corner.

2 quilts blocks separated with a sashing strip.

Once each row is done, number the row as shown.

Numbering your rows will simplify the assembly of the quilt top.

While designing and thinking about the layout I decided I wanted both corners to be largely the same but at the same time, have something different to set them apart. That’s why you have the full circle blocks in one pile and the full colored accent blocks in the other pile.

When the rows are completed, prepare the strips that will be sewn between each row. When I work with strips to divide rows as we are doing now, the ex-military in me comes through: I must have all my vertical rows perfectly aligned.

When I pieced this quilt together, I did so row by row. There were only 2 things I worried about: 1. the placement of the background blocks and 2. from which pile I needed to take the blocks.

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To do so, I pull out my pencil and ruler and lightly mark on the back of the horizontal strip to indicate where the vertical strips need to intersect:

Match up the seams of the vertical strips to the marks on the horizontal strips on each row.

1. The first mark needs to be at 10¼” then 1”. 2. The subsequent marks will be at 10” and 1”, respectively. TIP! Mark both edges at once and mark all your strips at the same time.

Align the seams of the vertical strips to the marks on the horizontal strips.

Once you have all of your horizontal strips sewn you should have a quilt top the sample: I had my sample quilted by long-arm quilter, Kim Mullen of Eye Candy Custom Quilting, she did a terrific job! Place marks where the vertical strips intersect the horizontal strips.

Using fabrics from Banyan Batiks Lustre collection really made this quilt pop. But what really made this quilt project fun and easy were these TrueCut tools:

• • • • Paul Leger

paullegerquilts.com

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TrueCut 6½” x 6½” quilting ruler TrueCut 12½” x 12½” quilting ruler TrueCut 6½” x 24½” quilting ruler TrueCut 360º Circle Cutter

If you don’t have these essentials in your arsenal of quilting gadgets, ask your Local Quilt Shop to get them for you!

Calling all Quilters... WE HAVE A MACHINE FOR YOU! EACH MACHINE FEATURES: • EXCLUSIVE SENSOR SYSTEM™ • Start/Stop, Needle Up/Down & Automatic Thread Cutter • 7mm stitch width with 29 needle positions • Speed control functions

OPAL™ 690Q

Computerized Sewing Machine • Easy to navigate TouchScreen • EXCLUSIVE SEWING ADVISOR® feature • 200mm (8”) sewing surface • Bonus Quilting Feet included!

BRILLIANCE™ 75Q

Computerized Sewing Machine • Interactive Colour Touch Screen • EXCLUSIVE SEWING ADVISOR® feature • 250mm (10”) of spacious sewing surface • Exclusive stitch techniques: Dimensional stitches and Theme stitches • Stitch Positioning • Straight stitch needle plate with sensor included!

EPIC™ 980Q

Computerized Sewing Machine • JoyOS ADVISOR™—Instant and interactive guidance • Generous full-colour 217x136mm (10.1”) capacitive touch screen—works like a tablet • 310mm (12.25”) extra large sewing surface • Free mySewnet™ cloud account provides automatic updates and easy mobile access • Revolutionary LED lighting system • deLuxe™ STITCH SYSTEM technology • Fully Automatic Needle Threader • Interchangeable Dual Feed with changeable presser feet VIKING, OPAL, BRILLIANCE, EPIC, JOYOS ADVISOR, MYSEWNET, EXCLUSIVE SENSOR SYSTEM, DELUXE, and EXCLUSIVE SEWING ADVISOR are exclusive trademarks of KSIN Luxembourg II, S.a.r.l. HUSQVARNA and the “H” Crown Device are trademarks of Husqvarna AB and are used under license. ©2019 KSIN Luxembourg II, S.a.r.l. All rights reserved.

www.husqvarnaviking.com/en-CA

BUSINESS DIRECTORY

To list your business in this space please call 1.866.969.2678.

Many shops are offering online ordering and curbside pickup during the COVID-19 lockdown. Call your local shop for more information. CANADA Brampton Sew & Serge 289 Rutherford Rd S, Unit 7, Brampton, ON L6W 3R9  905.874.1564  bramptonsewnserge.com  monique@bramptonsewnserge.com Welcome to Your One Stop Sewing Centre! We are authorized dealers of Baby Lock, Husqvarna Viking, and Singer sewing machines and sergers. We also offer a full schedule of sewing classes for everyone. Bytowne Threads - Ottawa, ON

 1.888.831.4095  bytownethreads.com

 mlj@bytownethreads.com Featuring Aurifil thread from Italy. Long staple Egyptian cotton threads - 270 colours in 12, 28, 40 and 50 wt; 88 colours in 80 wt. Polyester Aurilux 240 high sheen colours. Wool threads - 192 colours. Many kits available. Check our website!

Sew With Vision 480 Parkland Dr, Halifax, NS B3S 1P9  902.479.2227  sewwithvision.net Authorized PFAFF, HUSQVARNA VIKING, and SINGER dealer and service provider offering an extensive line of sewing, embroidery and serger machines, as well as long-arm quilting systems. That Sewing Place 16610 Bayview Ave #10, Newmarket, ON L3X 1X3  905.715.7725  thatsewingplace.ca  jaret@thatsewingplace.ca Introducing That Sewing Place as your sewing source and Authorized Dealers for Bernina and Brother machines. Our focus is on placing your sewing needs first, providing outstanding support, service, and training.

The Quilt Store / Evelyn's Sewing Centre 17817 Leslie St, Unit 40, Newmarket, ON L3Y 8C6 Canadian National Fabric - Brampton, ON  905.853.7001 or toll-free 1.888.853.7001  https://canadiannationalfabric.com/ The Quilt Store West  info@canadiannationalfabric.com 695 Plains Rd E, Unit 6, Burlington, ON L7T 2E8 We are an online fabric shoppe offering a wide 905.631.0894 or toll-free 1.877.367.7070  variety of fabrics, patterns, books and notions for all  thequiltstore.ca your sewing needs. Flat rate Canada wide shipping Now with 2 locations to serve you, we are your Quilt of $5. Shop in person available by appointment! Store Destination! The staff here at The Quilt Store is always on hand to provide Quilt Wisdom, Quilt Country Concessions Inspiration and most of all we pride ourselves as the 1 Dufferin St, Cookstown, ON L0L 1L0 place to make... All Your Quilt Dreams Come True!  705.458.4546 or toll-free 1.888.834.4407  countryconcessions.com The Yarn Guy  info@countryconcessions.com 15 Gower St, Toronto, ON M4B 1E3 Visit our lovely and unique quilt shop in the quaint 416.752.1828 or toll-free 1.800.836.6536  village of Cookstown. We have over 7000 bolts of  theyarnguy.com  info@sewknit.ca cotton fabrics plus a wide selection of patterns, books See us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter! & notions. You will be so glad you came for a visit. Knitting machines, sewing machines, repairs, parts for Passap, Studio, Singer, Silver Reed, Superba, Haus of Stitches White. Sewing notions and supplies, books, ball 626 Main Street, Humboldt, SK S0K 2A0 yarns, coned yarns, TAMM yarns, Paton's yarns,  306.682.0772 or toll-free 1.800.344.6024 Bernat yarns, Phentex yarns, Bernat kits & crafts.  hausofstitches.ca Our one of a kind store offers everything you need Upper Canada Quiltworks – Quiltworks Studio for sewing, quilting, knitting, rug hooking and 37 Perth St, Brockville, ON K6V 5C3 needlework. Authorized dealers for Janome and Elna.  613.865.7299; Open 10-4, Tuesday-Saturday  uppercanadaquiltworks.com Kelly's Creative Sewing  uppercanadaquiltworksstudio@gmail.com 804 Main St, Dartmouth, NS B2W 3V1 Quilt patterns and books, fabric and notions, felted  902.435.7380  kellyscreativesewing.ca wool, wool kits, punchneedle patterns and supplies  kellyscreativesewing@gmail.com and Valdani embroidery floss. Workshops in quilting, We offer sales and on-site service of high-end punchneedle, wool applique, rug-hooking, sewing, domestic embroidery, sewing machines and sergers, as well as a variety of educational programs. sign painting and more!

Close to Home Sewing Center 277 Hebron Ave, Glastonbury CT 06033 860.633.0721, closetohomestores.com Cottage Quilts * Sew Creative Studio 1310 Center Dr Unit A, Medford OR 97501 541.500.8071, cottage-quilts.com Discount Fabric Warehouse 933 Kanoelehua Ave, Hilo HI 96720 808.935.1234, discountfabricwarehouse.com JS Linen and Curtain Outlet 1250 Northside Dr, Statesville NC 28625 704.871.1939, jslinenoutlet.com/js-quilt-shop Just Sew Studio 51 Third St NE, Waite Park MN 56387 320.654.1580, justsewstudiomn.com Keeping You Sewing 226 4th Ave S, Clinton IA 52732 563.242.6135, keepingyousewing.com Maryland Vacuum and Sewing Center 21710 Great Mills Rd, Lexington Park MD 20653 301.862.4310, mdvacsew.com New England Sewing 501 Hartford Rd, Manchester CT 06040 860.647.8119, nesewing.com Options Quilt Shop 102 E Commerce St, Jacksonville TX 75766 903.586.9546, optionsquiltshop.com Paramount Sewing & Vacuum 3960 Rickey St SE, Salem OR 97317 503.990.8186, paramount-sew-vac.com Pick Your Stitch 6701 Manlius Center Rd, East Syracuse NY 13057 315.437.0962, pickyourstitch.com Quality Vac and Sew 1213 Gilmore Ave Ste E2B, Winona MN 55987-2632 507.452.2203, qualityvacandsew.com Quilters' Corner @ Middlebury Sew-N-Vac 260 Court St Ste 4, Middlebury VT 05753 802.388.3559, middleburysewnvac.com Quintessential Quilts 4261 Lien Rd Ste M, Madison WI 53704 608.242.8555, qquilts.com

Select Sewing 2415 East 65th St, Indianapolis IN 46220 Brandon Sewing Centre 821 Princess Ave, Brandon MB R7A 0P5, 204.727.2752 317.255.6332, selectsewingservice.com Sew Special Carellan Sewing Centre 688 W Main St, Uniontown PA 15401 1685 Corydon Ave, Winnipeg MB R3N 0J8 204.488.2272, facebook.com/CarellanSewingCentre 724.438.1765, sew-special.biz Sew What? Fabric Shoppe K&A Quilt Studio 7 W Front St, Addison NY 14801 160 Ingersoll St S, Ingersoll ON N5C 3V3 607.359.4308, sewwhatfabricshoppe.com 519.425.4141, kaquiltstudio.com Sierra Sewing, Quilting, and Vacuums Sew Fancy Inc. Stitch By Stitch 8056 S Virginia St Ste 6, Reno NV 89511 Guelph, ON 550 Days Rd Unit 1, Kingston ON K7M 3R7 775.823.9700, sierrasewing.com 613.389.2223, stitchbystitchkingston.com  519.824.4127  sewfancy.com  sales@sewfancy.com Singer Factory Distributor Your Premier Canadian Source for Specialty Sewing UNITED STATES 4914 W Irving Park Rd, Chicago IL 60641 Supplies including Smocking, Heirloom Sewing, 773.545.6834, singerfactorydistributor.com A-1 Singer Sewing Center Goldwork, Silk Ribbon Embroidery, Needle Tatting, 1012 S Oliver St, Wichita KS 67218 Suddenly Sewing Swarovski Crystals, Sashiko, Quilting and more. Visit 316.685.0226, a-1singer.com 5850 Kroger Dr Ste 110, Fort Worth TX 76244 the website for the latest in sewing supplies. 817.741.5400, suddenlysewing.com American Folk Art and Craft Supply Sew Inspired 1415 Hanover St, West Hanover, MA 02339 Thimbelina's Quilt Shop 375 Daniel St S, Arnprior, ON K7S 3K6 781.871.7277, americanfolkartonline.com 118 North B St Ste B, Livingston MT 59047-2662  613.623.0500  sewinspired.ca 406.222.5904, thimbelinasquiltshop.com  info@sewinspired.ca Charlotte Sewing Studio Your Ottawa Valley PFAFF® Authorized Dealer. We 1109 Tamiami Trl Unit 2, Port Charlotte FL 33953 have a large supply of quilting & sewing supplies, 941.235.3555, charlottesewingstudio.com knitting supplies, as well as in stock PFAFF® sewing machines. We also have a listing of sewing and quilting classes.

Ottawa Sewing Centre 1390 Clyde Ave, #107, Ottawa, ON K2G 3H9  613.695.1386  ottawasewing.com  ottawasewing@gmail.com Authorized Dealers for Brother, BabyLock, Elna, Q'nique & Grace quilting frames. Specialize in sales, parts & servicing for all makes & models of quilting/ embroidery/sewing/serger/overlock machines & cabinets by Sylvia Design.

O  UILTsocial

| issue 16

INTRODUCING

Innov-ís VM5200

Packed with lots of new and advanced features, this sewing, quilting and embroidery machine offers endless creative possibilities at a great price! Expansive 56-square-inch workspace handles larger projects with ease.

Large embroidery area for designs up to 8” x 12”.

7” LCD touchscreen display lets you see up to 260,000 colours, view onscreen tutorials and navigate using large, intuitive icons.

Boost your machine’s capabilities with these optional accessories!* • MuVit™ Digital Dual Feed System (SA196C)

• Droplight Embroidery Positioning Marker (SA197C)

• Multifunction Foot Controller (SAMFFCC)

INSPIRING CREATIVITY FOR GENERATIONS * Additional purchase required. Photos are for illustration purposes only. Brother and its logo are trademarks of Brother Industries, Ltd., Japan. All specifications are subject to change without notice. All registered trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective companies. ©2019 Brother International Corporation (Canada) Ltd. 1, rue Hôtel de Ville, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Québec, H9B 3H6. 1 1/2019 2019_801

A NEEDLE PULLING THREAD QUILT SEW KNIT CROCHET CROSS STITCH EMBROIDER HOOK RUGS

A NEEDLE PULLI NG THREAD

QUILT SEW KNIT CRO CHET CRO SS STITCH

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T H O U G H T FU L

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BUMPS IN THE ROAD SOCKS Pro je c ts in s p ir e d b y favou rite relati ves

Make Stay Calm

#TheSewGoe sOn

Visit www.ANPTmag.com to order

Get quilting!